Job’s Friends Are No Help
1 Then Job answered and said,
2 “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 heavier than the sand of the sea; Therefore my words have been incoherent,
4 Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me, My spirit drinks their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 “Does the 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 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 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 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 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 no help within myself, And that success and wisdom have been driven from me?
14 “For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not abandon (turn away from) the fear of the Almighty.
15 “My brothers have acted 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 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 Tema looked [for water], The caravans of Sheba waited for them [in vain].
20 “They 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, 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 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 words of one in despair belong to the wind [and go ignored]?
27 “You would cast lots (gamble) over the fatherless And bargain away your friend.
28 “Now please look at me, And see if I lie to your face [for you know that I would not].
29 “Turn away [from your suspicion], let there be no injustice; Turn away, my righteousness and vindication is still in it.
30 “Is there injustice or malice on my tongue? Can my palate not discern what is destructive?