Job 6
1 Then answered Job, and said,
Then Job spoke again, saying [to Eliphaz],
2 Oh that my vexation could be truly weighed, and my calamity; oh that men might lift it up in the balances at once!
“If all my troubles and misery could be put on a scale and weighed,
3 For now it is already heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore are my words confused.
they would be heavier than all the sands [on the shores] of the oceans. That is why I spoke (very rashly/without thinking clearly) [about the day that I was born].
4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof my spirit drinketh it: the terrors of God set themselves in array against me.
[It is as though] Almighty [God] has shot me with arrows. [It is as though] those arrows had poison on their tips, and that poison has gone into my spirit. The things that God has done to me have terrified me.
5 Doth the wild ass bray over the grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?
Just like a wild donkey does not [complain by] braying when it has plenty of grass to eat, and an ox does not [complain by] bellowing when it has food to eat [MET], [I would not complain if you were really helping/comforting me].
6 Is ever tasteless food eaten without salt? or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?
People complain [RHQ] when they must eat food which has no salt or other tasteless food [MET], [and that is what your words are like, Eliphaz].
7 My soul refuseth to touch them: they are unto me like disgusting food.
Just like I do not want to eat food [like that], and I loathe/detests that kind of food [MET], [I do not appreciate what you have said to me].
8 Oh that some one would grant the accomplishment of my request; and that God would grant me the fulfillment of my hope!
“I wish that God would do for me what I have requested from him [DOU].
9 Yea, that it would please God that he might crush me: that he would let loose his hand, and make an end of me!
I wish that he would crush me [and let me die]. I wish that he would reach out his hand and take away my life.
10 Then would this be still my comfort; yea, I would rejoice in my pain while be would not spare: that I have not gainsaid the commands of the Holy One.—
If he would do that, I would be comforted by knowing that in spite of the great pain that I have suffered, I have always obeyed what [God, ] the Holy One, has commanded.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait? and what my end, that I should yet longer retain my patience?
But now I do not have [RHQ] enough strength to endure all these things. And since I have nothing [to hope for] in (the future/this life), it is difficult for me to be patient now [RHQ].
12 Is the strength of stones my strength? or is my flesh brazen?
I am not [RHQ] strong like rocks are, and my body is not made of bronze.
13 Truly, am I not without my help in me? and is not wise counsel driven far away from me?
So I am not able to help myself, and [it seems that] there is no one to rescue me.”
14 As though I were one who refuseth kindness to his friend, and forsaketh the fear of the Almighty:
“When a man has many troubles, his friends should be kind to him, even if he stops revering Almighty [God].
15 My brothers are treacherous as a brook, like flowing brooks they pass along;
But [you, ] my friends, are not dependable. You are like streams: They spill over their banks [in the spring]
16 Which are made turbid by reason of the ice, wherein the snow hideth itself;
when [the melting] ice and snow make those streams overflow,
17 At the time when they feel the warmth, they vanish; when it is hot, they are quenched out of their place.
but when the dry season comes, there is no water flowing [in those streams], and the channels dry up.
18 The paths of their course wind themselves along; they go in the wilderness and are lost.
[The caravans of merchants] turn off the path [to search for some water], but there is no water, so they die [in the desert].
19 The caravans of Thema look hither, the travelling companies Sheba hope for them;
The men in those caravans search [for some water] because they are sure that they will find some.
20 But they stand ashamed because they had trusted; they come thither and are made to blush.
But they do not find any, so they are very disappointed.
21 For truly now ye are like such a one: ye see my terrible state and are afraid.
Similarly, you friends have not helped me at all! You have seen that terrible things have happened to me, and you are afraid [that God might do similar things to you].
22 Have I then ever said, Give me something, and out of your property offer a bribe in my behalf?
[After I lost all my wealth, ] did I ask any of you for money? [RHQ] Did I plead with any of you to spend some of your money to help me [RHQ]?
23 And deliver me from the hand of the adversary? and redeem from the hand of tyrants?
Have I asked any of you to rescue me from my enemies [RHQ]? Have I asked you to save me from those who (oppressed me/treated me badly) [RHQ]? [No!]”
24 Teach me, and I will indeed remain silent; and wherein I erred give me to understand.
“Answer me [now, and then] I will be quiet; tell me what wrong things I have done!
25 How pleasant are straightforward words! but what doth arguing prove?
When people speak what is true, that will not hurt the person who hears it, but what you say, criticizing me, [is not true, so your saying it] proves nothing [RHQ]!
26 Do ye think to reprove words, and [to regard] as wind the speeches of one that is despairing?
I am a man who has nothing to hope for, but you try to correct me, and you think what I say is nothing but wind [RHQ]!
27 Yea, ye would cast any thing upon the fatherless, and ye would dig a pit against your friend.
You do not sympathize with me at all [for all that I am suffering]. [You are heartless!] You would even gamble to see who gets an orphan [as a prize]!
28 But now, if it please you, turn yourselves toward me, and [say] whether I would lie before your face.
Please look at me! I will not [RHQ] lie to you.
29 Reflect again, I pray you, there will be no wrong: yea, reflect once more, my righteousness [will be found] therein.
Stop [saying that I have sinned, and] stop criticizing me unjustly! You should realize that I have not done things that are wrong.
30 Is there any wrong on my tongue? or should my palate not understand [if I spoke] what is iniquitous?
Do you think that I am lying? No, I am not lying, because I know what is right and what is wrong [RHQ].”
