Job 6
1 Respondens autem Iob, dixit:
And Job answers and says:
2 Utinam appenderentur peccata mea, quibus iram merui: et calamitas, quam patior, in statera.
“O that my provocation were thoroughly weighed, And my calamity in balances They would lift up together!
3 Quasi arena maris hæc gravior appareret: unde et verba mea dolore sunt plena:
For now it is heavier than the sands of the sea, Therefore my words have been rash.
4 Quia sagittæ Domini in me sunt, quarum indignatio ebibit spiritum meum, et terrores Domini militant contra me.
For arrows of the Mighty [are] with me, Whose poison is drinking up my spirit. Terrors of God array themselves [for] me!
5 Numquid rugiet onager cum habuerit herbam? aut mugiet bos cum ante præsepe plenum steterit?
Does a wild donkey bray over tender grass? Does an ox low over his provender?
6 Aut poterit comedi insulsum, quod non est sale conditum? aut potest aliquis gustare, quod gustatum affert mortem?
Is an insipid thing eaten without salt? Is there sense in the drivel of dreams?
7 Quæ prius nolebat tangere anima mea, nunc præ angustia, cibi mei sunt.
My soul is refusing to touch! They [are] as my sickening food.
8 Quis det ut veniat petitio mea: et quod expecto, tribuat mihi Deus?
O that my request may come, That God may grant my hope!
9 Et qui cœpit, ipse me conterat: solvat manum suam, et succidat me?
That God would please—and bruise me, Loose His hand and cut me off!
10 Et hæc mihi sit consolatio ut affligens me dolore, non parcat, nec contradicam sermonibus Sancti.
And yet it is my comfort (And I exult in pain—He does not spare), That I have not hidden The sayings of the Holy One.
11 Quæ est enim fortitudo mea ut sustineam? aut quis finis meus, ut patienter agam?
What [is] my power that I should hope? And what [is] my end that I should prolong my life?
12 Nec fortitudo lapidum fortitudo mea, nec caro mea ænea est.
Is my strength the strength of stones? Is my flesh bronze?
13 Ecce, non est auxilium mihi in me, et necessarii quoque mei recesserunt a me.
Is my help not with me, And substance driven from me?
14 Qui tollit ab amico suo misericordiam, timorem Domini derelinquit.
To a despiser of his friends [is] shame, And the fear of the Mighty he forsakes.
15 Fratres mei præterierunt me, sicut torrens qui raptim transit in convallibus.
My brothers have deceived as a brook, As a stream of brooks they pass away.
16 Qui timent pruinam, irruet super eos nix.
That are black because of ice, By them snow hides itself.
17 Tempore, quo fuerint dissipati, peribunt: et ut incaluerit, solventur de loco suo.
By the time they are warm they have been cut off, By its being hot they have been Extinguished from their place.
18 Involutæ sunt semitæ gressuum eorum: ambulabunt in vacuum, et peribunt.
The paths turn aside of their way, They ascend into emptiness, and are lost.
19 Considerate semitas Thema, itinera Saba, et expectate paulisper.
Passengers of Tema looked expectingly, Travelers of Sheba hoped for them.
20 Confusi sunt, quia speravi: venerunt quoque usque ad me, et pudore cooperti sunt.
They were ashamed that one has trusted, They have come to it and are confounded.
21 Nunc venistis: et modo videntes plagam meam timetis.
Surely now you have become the same! You see a downfall, and are afraid.
22 Numquid dixi: Afferte mihi, et de substantia vestra donate mihi?
Is it because I said, Give to me? And, By your power bribe for me?
23 Vel, Liberate me de manu hostis, et de manu robustorum eruite me?
And, Deliver me from the hand of an adversary? And, Ransom me from the hand of terrible ones?
24 Docete me, et ego tacebo: et siquid forte ignoravi, instruite me.
Show me, and I keep silent, And what I have erred, let me understand.
25 Quare detraxistis sermonibus veritatis, cum e vobis nullus sit qui possit arguere me?
How powerful have been upright sayings, And what reproof from you reproves?
26 Ad increpandum tantum eloquia concinnatis, et in ventum verba profertis.
For reproof—do you reckon words? And for wind—sayings of the desperate?
27 Super pupillum irruitis, et subvertere nitimini amicum vestrum.
You cause anger to fall on the fatherless, And are strange to your friend.
28 Verumtamen quod cœpistis explete: præbete aurem, et videte an mentiar.
And now, please, look on me, Even to your face do I lie?
29 Respondete obsecro absque contentione: et loquentes id quod iustum est, iudicate.
Please turn back, let it not be perverseness, Indeed, turn back again—my righteousness [is] in it.
30 Et non invenietis in lingua mea iniquitatem, nec in faucibus meis stultitia personabit.
Is there perverseness in my tongue? Does my palate not discern calamity?”
