Job 6:6-30

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’?

6:23 Or ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s power,

and from the hand of tyrants ransom me’?

No Sin Discovered

6:24 “Teach me and I, for my part, will be silent;

explain to me how I have been mistaken.

6:25 How painful are honest words!

But what does your reproof prove?

6:26 Do you intend to criticize mere words,

and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?

6:27 Yes, you would gamble for the fatherless,

and auction off your friend.

Other Explanation

6:28 “Now then, be good enough to look at me;

and I will not lie to your face!

6:29 Relent, let there be no falsehood;

reconsider, for my righteousness is intact!

6:30 Is there any falsehood on my lips?

Can my mouth not discern evil things?