The Amplified Bible

Job 6

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Job’s Friends Are No Help

¹ Then Job answered and said,

² “Oh, that my grief could actually be weighed
And placed in the balances together with my tragedy [to see if my grief is the grief of a coward]!

³ “For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
Therefore my words have been incoherent,

⁴ Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
My spirit drinks their poison;
The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

⁵ “Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass?
Or does the ox low over his fodder?

⁶ “Can something that has no taste to it be eaten without salt?
Or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?

⁷ “My soul refuses to touch them;
Such things are like loathsome food to me [sickening and repugnant].

⁸ “Oh that my request would come to pass,
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

⁹ “I wish that it would please God to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off.

¹⁰ “Then I would still have consolation,
And I would jump for joy amid unsparing pain,
That I have not denied or hidden the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ “What strength do I have left, that I should wait [and hope]?
And what is ahead of me, that I should be patient and endure?

¹² “Is my strength and endurance that of stones,
Or is my flesh made of bronze?

¹³ “Is it that I have no help within myself,
And that success and wisdom have been driven from me?

¹⁴ “For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not ^[a]abandon (turn away from) the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵ “My brothers have acted deceitfully like a brook,
Like the torrents of brooks that vanish,

¹⁶ Which are dull and dirty because of ice,
And into which the snow melts and hides itself;

¹⁷ When it is warm, they are silent and cease to flow;
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

¹⁸ “The paths of their course wind along,
They go up into nothing and perish.
[Your counsel is as helpful to me as a dry streambed in the heat of summer.]

¹⁹ “The caravans of ^[b]Tema looked [for water],
The caravans of ^[c]Sheba waited for them [in vain].

²⁰ “They were put to shame and disappointed because they had trusted [that they would find water];
They came there and were ashamed.

²¹ “Indeed, you have now become like a dried-up stream,
You see a terror [believing me to be a victim of the wrath of God] and are afraid [to be compassionate].

²² “Did I ever say, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Pay a bribe for me from your wealth,’

²³ Or, ‘Rescue me from the adversary’s hand,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

²⁴ “Teach me, and I will be silent;
And show me how I have erred.

²⁵ “How painful are words of honesty.
But what does your argument prove?

²⁶ “Do you intend to reprove my words [with a convincing argument],
When the words of one in despair belong to the wind [and go ignored]?

²⁷ “You would cast lots (gamble) over the fatherless
And bargain away your friend.

²⁸ “Now please look at me,
And see if I lie to your face [for you know that I would not].

²⁹ “Turn away [from your suspicion], let there be no injustice;
Turn away, my righteousness and vindication is still in it.

³⁰ “Is there injustice or malice on my tongue?
Can my palate not discern what is destructive?

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