Job 6
1 Respondens autem Iob, dixit:
Then Job responded:
2 Utinam appenderentur peccata mea, quibus iram merui: et calamitas, quam patior, in statera.
“If my grief could be weighed and my troubles placed on the scales
3 Quasi arena maris haec gravior appareret: unde et verba mea dolore sunt plena:
they would be heavier than the sand of the sea. That's why I spoke so rashly.
4 Quia sagittae Domini in me sunt, quarum indignatio ebibit spiritum meum, et terrores Domini militant contra me.
For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; their poison saps my spirit. God's terrors are lined up against me.
5 Numquid rugiet onager cum habuerit herbam? aut mugiet bos cum ante praesepe plenum steterit?
Don't wild donkeys bray when their grass is gone? Don't cattle groan when they don't have food!
6 Aut poterit comedi insulsum, quod non est sale conditum? aut potest aliquis gustare, quod gustatum affert mortem?
Can something that's tasteless be eaten without salt? Is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7 Quae prius nolebat tangere anima mea, nunc prae angustia, cibi mei sunt.
I just can't touch any food—even the thought makes me feel sick!
8 Quis det ut veniat petitio mea: et quod expecto, tribuat mihi Deus?
Oh, if only I could have what I really want, that God would give me what I most desire—
9 Et qui coepit, ipse me conterat: solvat manum suam, et succidat me?
that God would be willing to crush me to death, that he would just let me die!
10 Et haec mihi sit consolatio ut affligens me dolore, non parcat, nec contradicam sermonibus Sancti.
But it still comforts me to know, making me happy through the never-ending pain, that I have never rejected the words of God.
11 Quae est enim fortitudo mea ut sustineam? aut quis finis meus, ut patienter agam?
Why should I go on waiting when I don't have the strength? Why should I keep going when I don't know what is going to happen to me?
12 Nec fortitudo lapidum fortitudo mea, nec caro mea aenea est.
Am I as strong as rock? Am I made out of bronze?
13 Ecce, non est auxilium mihi in me, et necessarii quoque mei recesserunt a me.
How can I help myself now that any chance of success is ripped away from me?
14 Qui tollit ab amico suo misericordiam, timorem Domini derelinquit.
Anyone who isn't kind to a friend has given up respecting the Almighty.
15 Fratres mei praeterierunt me, sicut torrens qui raptim transit in convallibus.
My brothers have acted as deceptively as a desert stream, rushing waters in the desert that vanish.
16 Qui timent pruinam, irruet super eos nix.
The stream floods when it is full of dark ice and melting snow,
17 Tempore, quo fuerint dissipati, peribunt: et ut incaluerint, solventur de loco suo.
but in the heat it dries up and disappears, vanishing from where it once was.
18 Involutae sunt semitae gressuum eorum: ambulabunt in vacuum, et peribunt.
Camel caravans turn aside to look for water, but don't find any and they die.
19 Considerate semitas Thema, itinera Saba, et expectate paulisper.
Caravans from Tema looked, travelers from Sheba were confident,
20 Confusi sunt, quia speravi: venerunt quoque usque ad me, et pudore cooperti sunt.
but their hopes were dashed—they came and found nothing.
21 Nunc venistis: et modo videntes plagam meam timetis.
Now you are no help, just like that—you see my trouble and you're afraid.
22 Numquid dixi: Afferte mihi, et de substantia vestra donate mihi?
Have I asked you for anything? Have I told you to bribe anyone for me from your wealth?
23 Vel, Liberate me de manu hostis, et de manu robustorum eruite me?
Have I asked you to rescue me from an enemy? Have I told you to save me from my oppressors?
24 Docete me, et ego tacebo: et siquid forte ignoravi, instruite me.
Explain this to me, and I'll be quiet. Show me where I'm wrong.
25 Quare detraxistis sermonibus veritatis, cum e vobis nullus sit qui possit arguere me?
Honest words are painful, but what do your arguments prove?
26 Ad increpandum tantum eloquia concinnatis, et in ventum verba profertis.
Are you going to argue over what I said, when the words of someone in despair should be left to blow away in the wind?
27 Super pupillum irruitis, et subvertere nitimini amicum vestrum.
You would play dice to win an orphan; you would bargain away your friend!
28 Verumtamen quod coepistis explete: praebete aurem, et videte an mentiar.
Look me in the eye and see if I'm lying to your face!
29 Respondete obsecro absque contentione: et loquentes id quod iustum est, iudicate.
Don't talk like this! Don't be unjust! What I'm saying is right.
30 Et non invenietis in lingua mea iniquitatem, nec in faucibus meis stultitia personabit.
I'm not telling lies—don't you think I wouldn't know if I was wrong?”
