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Job's Friends Are No Help

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² "^(C1)Oh, that my grief could actually be weighed
And placed in the balances together with my tragedy to see if my grief is the grief of a coward!

³ "For now it would be ^(C1)heavier than the sand of the sea;
Therefore my words have been incoherent,

⁴ Because the ^(C1)arrows of the Almighty are within me,
My spirit drinks their ^(C2)poison;
The ^(C3)terrors of God are arrayed against me.

⁵ "Does the ^(C1)wild donkey bray when he has grass?
Or does the ox low over his fodder?

⁶ "Can something that has no taste to it be eaten without salt?
Or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?

⁷ "My soul ^(C1)refuses to touch them;
Such things are like loathsome food to me sickening and repugnant.

⁸ "Oh that my request would come to pass,
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

⁹ "I wish that it would please God ^(C1)to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off.

¹⁰ "Then I would still have consolation,
And I would jump for joy amid unsparing pain,
That I ^(C1)have not denied or hidden the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ "What strength do I have left, that I should wait and hope?
And what is ahead of me, that I should be ^(C1)patient and endure?

¹² "Is my strength and endurance that of stones,
Or is my flesh made of bronze?

¹³ "Is it that I have ^(C1)no help within myself,
And that ^(C2)success and wisdom have been driven from me?

¹⁴ "For the ^(C1)despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not ^(F1)(C2)abandon (turn away from) the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵ "My brothers have acted ^(C1)deceitfully like a brook,
Like the torrents of brooks that vanish,

¹⁶ Which are dull and dirty because of ice,
And into which the snow melts and hides itself;

¹⁷ When ^(C1)it is warm, they are silent and cease to flow;
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

¹⁸ "The paths of their course wind along,
They go up into nothing and perish.
Your counsel is as helpful to me as a dry streambed in the heat of summer.

¹⁹ "The caravans of ^(F1)(C1)Tema looked for water,
The caravans of ^(F2)(C2)Sheba waited for them in vain.

²⁰ "They ^(C1)were put to shame and disappointed because they had trusted that they would find water;
They came there and were ashamed.

²¹ "Indeed, you have now become like a dried-up stream,
^(C1)You see a terror believing me to be a victim of the wrath of God and are afraid to be compassionate.

²² "Did I ever say, 'Give me something,'
Or, 'Pay a bribe for me from your wealth,'

²³ Or, 'Rescue me from the adversary's hand,'
Or, 'Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants'?

²⁴ "Teach me, and ^(C1)I will be silent;
And show me how I have erred.

²⁵ "How painful are words of honesty.
But what does your argument prove?

²⁶ "Do you intend to reprove my words with a convincing argument,
When the ^(C1)words of one in despair belong to the wind and go ignored?

²⁷ "You would ^(C1)cast lots (gamble) over ^(C2)the fatherless
And ^(C3)bargain away your friend.

²⁸ "Now please look at me,
And see if I ^(C1)lie to your face for you know that I would not.

²⁹ "Turn away from your suspicion, let there be no injustice;
Turn away, ^(C1)my righteousness and vindication is still in it.

³⁰ "Is there injustice or malice on my tongue?
Can ^(C1)my palate not discern what is destructive?