Then Job replied:
If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be
placed on the scales! It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas— no wonder
my words have been impetuous. The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit
drinks in their poison; God's terrors are marshaled against me.
Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox bellow
when it has fodder? Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in
the sap of the mallow? I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill.
Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what
I hope for, that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and
cut off my life!
Then I would still have this consolation— my joy in
unrelenting pain— that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.
What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What
prospects, that I should be patient? Do I have the strength of stone? Is my
flesh bronze? Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been
driven from me?
Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the
fear of the Almighty.
But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,
as the streams that overflow when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with
melting snow, but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanish
from their channels. Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go off into
the wasteland and perish. The caravans of Tema look for water, the traveling
merchants of Sheba look in hope. They are distressed, because they had been
confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed.
Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something
dreadful and are afraid.
Have I ever said, 'Give something on my behalf, pay a ransom
for me from your wealth, deliver me from the hand of the enemy, rescue me from
the clutches of the ruthless'?
Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been
wrong.
How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments
prove?
Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat my desperate
words as wind?
You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away
your friend.
But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your
face? Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake. Is
there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice?
(Job 6:1-30 TNIV)
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