Job 6:1-22

Job Replies to Eliphaz

6:1 Then Job responded:

6:2 “Oh, if only my grief could be weighed,

and my misfortune laid on the scales too!

6:3 But because it is heavier than the sand of the sea,

that is why my words have been wild.

6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me;

my spirit drinks their poison;

God’s sudden terrors are arrayed against me.

Complaints Reflect Suffering

6:5 “Does the wild donkey bray when it is near grass?

Or does the ox low near its fodder?

6:6 Can food that is tasteless be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

6:7 I have refused to touch such things;

they are like loathsome food to me.

A Cry for Death

6:8 “Oh that my request would be realized,

and that God would grant me what I long for!

6:9 And that God would be willing to crush me,

that he would let loose his hand

and kill me.

6:10 Then I would yet have my comfort,

then I would rejoice,

in spite of pitiless pain,

for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

6:11 What is my strength, that I should wait?

and what is my end,

that I should prolong my life?

6:12 Is my strength like that of stones?

or is my flesh made of bronze?

6:13 Is not my power to help myself nothing,

and has not every resource been driven from me?

Disappointing Friends

6:14 “To the one in despair, kindness should come from his friend

even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

6:15 My brothers have been as treacherous as a seasonal stream,

and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams

that flow away.

6:16 They are dark because of ice;

snow is piled up over them.

6:17 When they are scorched, they dry up,

when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

6:18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;

they go into the wasteland and perish.

6:19 The caravans of Tema looked intently for these streams;

the traveling merchants of Sheba hoped for them.

6:20 They were distressed,

because each one had been so confident;

they arrived there, but were disappointed.

6:21 For now you have become like these streams that are no help;

you see a terror, and are afraid.

Friends’ Fears

6:22 “Have I ever said, ‘Give me something,

and from your fortune make gifts in my favor’?