² If only my grief could be weighed,
and my devastation placed on the scales with it!
³ They would certainly weigh more than the sand of the sea!
No wonder my words have been rash. ^[1]
4 The arrows of the Almighty stick in me.
My spirit drinks in their poison.
The terrors of God are lined up against me.

⁵ Does the wild donkey bray when it has green grass?
Does the ox bellow when it is near its fodder?
⁶ Is tasteless food eaten without salt?
Is there flavor in the white of an egg? ^[2]
7 I absolutely refuse to touch it.
It is no better than sickening food.

⁸ If only my request would be granted.
If only God would grant me what I hope for:
⁹     that God would decide to crush me,
    that he would unleash his hand and cut me off.
¹⁰ For then I would still have this comfort:
    Even as I writhe in relentless pain, ^[3]
    I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ What strength do I have to wait hopefully?
What end awaits me that would make me want to prolong my life?
¹² Is my strength like stone,
or is my flesh bronze?
¹³ Certainly I have no power to help myself,
    since the hope that I can recover has been driven far away from me.

¹⁴ A despairing person should receive loyalty ^[4] from his friends,
    even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
¹⁵ But my brothers are as undependable as gullies that dry up,
undependable as seasonal streams which overflow
¹⁶     when they are darkened by ice and swollen with melting snow,
¹⁷     but as quickly as they flood, they dry up in the scorching winds. ^[5]
When it gets hot, they vanish from their channels.
¹⁸ Caravans turn aside from their routes.
They go off into the empty wasteland and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of Tema search for these streams.
The travelers of Sheba hope to find them,
²⁰ but despite being confident, they are disappointed.
They arrive there only to be frustrated.

²¹ Now that is what you are like!
You have seen something dreadful and you panic.
²² Have I said, “Give me something,
or offer a payment on my behalf from your wealth”?
²³ Have I said, “Save me from the hand of my enemy,
or redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?
²⁴ Teach me and I will be silent.
Help me understand what I have done wrong.
²⁵ How painful honest words are!
But what does your rebuke prove?
²⁶ Do you intend to attack me for mere words
    by treating things said by a despairing man like wind? ^[6]
27 No doubt you would even cast lots for a fatherless child
and barter away your friend!

²⁸ But now, please look at me.
I would not lie to your face!
²⁹ Turn to me, ^[7] and get rid of injustice.
Turn to me. My righteousness is still intact. ^[8]
30 Is there any injustice on my tongue?
Wouldn’t my mouth detect it if I were speaking destructive words? ^[9]

Job 7

¹ Isn’t man’s time on earth like being compelled to serve in the army? Aren’t his days like those of a hired man?
² Like a slave, he longs for shade,
or like a day laborer, he waits for his pay.
³ In the same way, I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of agony have been assigned to me.
⁴ When I lie down, I think, “How long before I get up?”
But the night drags on,
and I am filled with restlessness until dawn.
⁵ My flesh is clothed with maggots and caked with dirt.
My skin scabs over and then oozes again.
⁶ My days pass by more swiftly than the shuttle of a weaver’s loom.
They come to an end without hope.

Soon I will lie down in the dust.
You will search for me, but I will not be there.