Job Replies to Eliphaz
6:1 Then Job responded:
6:2 “Oh, if only my grief could be weighed,
and my misfortune laid on the scales too!
6:3 But because it is heavier than the sand of the sea,
that is why my words have been wild.
6:4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
God’s sudden terrors are arrayed against me.
Complaints Reflect Suffering
6:5 “Does the wild donkey bray when it is near grass?
Or does the ox low near its fodder?
6:6 Can food that is tasteless be eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
6:7 I have refused to touch such things;
they are like loathsome food to me.
A Cry for Death
6:8 “Oh that my request would be realized,
and that God would grant me what I long for!
6:9 And that God would be willing to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand
and kill me.
6:10 Then I would yet have my comfort,
then I would rejoice,
in spite of pitiless pain,
for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
6:11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
and what is my end,
that I should prolong my life?
6:12 Is my strength like that of stones?
or is my flesh made of bronze?
6:13 Is not my power to help myself nothing,
and has not every resource been driven from me?
Disappointing Friends
6:14 “To the one in despair, kindness should come from his friend
even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
6:15 My brothers have been as treacherous as a seasonal stream,
and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams
that flow away.
6:16 They are dark because of ice;
snow is piled up over them.
6:17 When they are scorched, they dry up,
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
6:18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go into the wasteland and perish.
6:19 The caravans of Tema looked intently for these streams;
the traveling merchants of Sheba hoped for them.
6:20 They were distressed,
because each one had been so confident;
they arrived there, but were disappointed.
6:21 For now you have become like these streams that are no help;
you see a terror, and are afraid.
Friends’ Fears
6:22 “Have I ever said, ‘Give me something,
and from your fortune make gifts in my favor’?
6:23 Or ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s power,
and from the hand of tyrants ransom me’?
No Sin Discovered
6:24 “Teach me and I, for my part, will be silent;
explain to me how I have been mistaken.
6:25 How painful are honest words!
But what does your reproof prove?
6:26 Do you intend to criticize mere words,
and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?
6:27 Yes, you would gamble for the fatherless,
and auction off your friend.
Other Explanation
6:28 “Now then, be good enough to look at me;
and I will not lie to your face!
6:29 Relent, let there be no falsehood;
reconsider, for my righteousness is intact!
6:30 Is there any falsehood on my lips?
Can my mouth not discern evil things?