2.5 KiB
Job's Reply to Eliphaz
Chapter 6
-
Then Job answered:
-
If only my grief could be weighed and my devastation placed with it on the scales.
-
For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas! That is why my words are rash.
-
Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks their poison. God's terrors are arrayed against me.
-
Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass or an ox low over its fodder?
-
Is bland food eaten without salt? Is there flavor in an egg white?
-
I refuse to touch them; they are like contaminated food.
-
If only my request would be granted and God would provide what I hope for:
-
that he would decide to crush me, to unleash his power and cut me off!
-
It would still bring me comfort, and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
-
What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope? What is my future, that I should be patient?
-
Is my strength that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze?
-
Since I cannot help myself, the hope for success has been banished from me.
-
A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.
-
My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi, as seasonal streams that overflow
-
and become darkened because of ice, and the snow melts into them.
-
The wadis evaporate in warm weather; they disappear from their channels in hot weather.
-
Caravans turn away from their routes, go up into the desert, and perish.
-
The caravans of Tema look for these streams. The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.
-
They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water. When they arrive there, they are disappointed.
-
So this is what you have now become to me. When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.
-
Have I ever said, "Give me something" or "Pay a bribe for me from your wealth"
-
or "Deliver me from the enemy's hand" or "Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless"?
-
Teach me, and I will be silent.
Help me understand what I did wrong.
-
How painful honest words can be! But what does your rebuke prove?
-
Do you think that you can disprove my words or that a despairing man's words are mere wind?
-
No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child and negotiate a price to sell your friend.
-
But now, please look at me; I will not lie to your face.
-
Reconsider; don't be unjust. Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue.
-
Is there injustice on my tongue or can my palate not taste disaster?