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Job's Friends Are No Help

¹ Then Job responded,

² "^(C1)Oh if only my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my disaster!

³ "For then it would be ^(C1)heavier than the sand of the seas;
For that reason my words have been rash.

⁴ "For the ^(C1)arrows of the Almighty are within me,
^(F1)My spirit drinks their ^(C2)poison;
The ^(C3)terrors of God line up against me.

⁵ "Does the ^(C1)wild donkey bray over his grass,
Or does the ox low over his feed?

⁶ "Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the ^(F1)juice of an alkanet plant?

⁷ "My soul ^(C1)refuses to touch them;
They are like loathsome food to me.

⁸ "Oh, that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my hope!

⁹ "Oh, that God would ^(C1)decide to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!

¹⁰ "But it is still my comfort,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I ^(C1)have not ^(F1)denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ "What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should ^(F1)(C1)endure?

¹² "Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³ "Is it that my ^(C1)help is not within me,
And that a ^(C2)good outcome is driven away from me?

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

¹⁵ "My brothers have acted ^(C1)deceitfully like a ^(F1)wadi,
Like the torrents of ^(F1)wadis which drain away,

¹⁶ Which are darkened because of ice,
And into which the snow ^(F1)melts.

¹⁷ "When ^(C1)they dry up, they vanish;
When it is hot, they disappear from their place.

¹⁸ "The ^(F1)paths of their course wind along,
They go up into wasteland and perish.

¹⁹ "The caravans of ^(C1)Tema looked,
The travelers of ^(C2)Sheba hoped for them.

²⁰ "They ^(C1)were put to shame, for they had trusted,
They came there and were humiliated.

²¹ "Indeed, you have now become such,
^(C1)You see terrors and are afraid.

²² "Have I said, 'Give me something,'
Or, 'Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,'

²³ Or, 'Save me from the hand of the enemy,'
Or, 'Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants'?

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

²⁵ "How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?

²⁶ "Do you intend to rebuke my words,
When the ^(C1)words of one in despair belong to the wind?

²⁷ "You would even ^(C1)cast lots for ^(C2)the orphans,
And ^(C3)barter over your friend.

²⁸ "Now please look at me,
And see if I am ^(C1)lying to your face.

²⁹ "Please turn away, let there be no injustice;
Turn away, ^(C1)my righteousness is still in it.

³⁰ "Is there injustice on my tongue?
Does ^(C1)my palate not discern disasters?