Job 16:6

Abandonment by God and Man

16:6 “But ¹  if I speak, my pain is not relieved, ² 

and if I refrain from speaking

– how ³  much of it goes away?

[16:6]  ¹ tn “But” is supplied in the translation to strengthen the contrast.

[16:6]  ² tn The Niphal יֵחָשֵׂךְ (yekhasekh) means “to be soothed; to be assuaged.”

[16:6]  ³ tn Some argue that מָה (mah) in the text is the Arabic ma, the simple negative. This would then mean “it does not depart far from me.” The interrogative used rhetorically amounts to the same thing, however, so the suggestion is not necessary.