2.6 KiB
Job's Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
Chapter 6
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Then Job spoke again:
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"If my misery could be weighed
and my troubles be put on the scales,
- they would outweigh all the sands of the sea.
That is why I spoke impulsively.
- For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.
Their poison infects my spirit.
God's terrors are lined up against me.
- Don't I have a right to complain?
Don't wild donkeys bray when they find no grass,
and oxen bellow when they have no food?
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Don't people complain about unsalted food? Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?
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My appetite disappears when I look at it;
I gag at the thought of eating it!
- "Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant my desire.
- I wish he would crush me.
I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.
- At least I can take comfort in this:
Despite the pain,
I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
- But I don't have the strength to endure.
I have nothing to live for.
- Do I have the strength of a stone?
Is my body made of bronze?
- No, I am utterly helpless,
without any chance of success.
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"One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.
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My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook
that overflows its banks in the spring
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when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.
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But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears.
The brook vanishes in the heat.
- The caravans turn aside to be refreshed,
but there is nothing to drink, so they die.
- The caravans from Tema search for this water;
the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.
- They count on it but are disappointed.
When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.
- You, too, have given no help.
You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.
- But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift?
Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?
- Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies,
or to save me from ruthless people?
- Teach me, and I will keep quiet.
Show me what I have done wrong.
- Honest words can be painful,
but what do your criticisms amount to?
- Do you think your words are convincing
when you disregard my cry of desperation?
- You would even send an orphan into slavery
or sell a friend.
- Look at me!
Would I lie to your face?
- Stop assuming my guilt,
for I have done no wrong.
- Do you think I am lying?
Don't I know the difference between right and wrong?