• Job: My Complaint Is Just

  • 1 Then Job answered and said:
  • 2 “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed, And my calamity laid with it on the scales!
  • 3 For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea— Therefore my words have been rash.
  • 4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me.
  • 5 Does the wild donkey bray when it has grass, Or does the ox low over its fodder?
  • 6 Can flavorless food be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
  • 7 My soul refuses to touch them; They are as loathsome food to me.
  • 8 “Oh, that I might have my request, That God would grant me the thing that I long for!
  • 9 That it would please God to crush me, That He would loose His hand and cut me off!
  • 10 Then I would still have comfort; Though in anguish I would exult, He will not spare; For I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
  • 11 “What strength do I have, that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?
  • 12 Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze?
  • 13 Is my help not within me? And is success driven from me?
  • 14 “To him who is afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend, Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
  • 15 My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook, Like the streams of the brooks that pass away,
  • 16 Which are dark because of the ice, And into which the snow vanishes.
  • 17 When it is warm, they cease to flow; When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
  • 18 The paths of their way turn aside, They go nowhere and perish.
  • 19 The caravans of Tema look, The travelers of Sheba hope for them.
  • 20 They are disappointed because they were confident; They come there and are confused.
  • 21 For now you are nothing, You see terror and are afraid.
  • 22 Did I ever say, ‘Bring something to me’? Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?
  • 23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s hand’? Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of oppressors’?
  • 24 “Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
  • 25 How forceful are right words! But what does your arguing prove?
  • 26 Do you intend to rebuke my words, And the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind?
  • 27 Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless, And you undermine your friend.
  • 28 Now therefore, be pleased to look at me; For I would never lie to your face.
  • 29 Yield now, let there be no injustice! Yes, concede, my righteousness still stands!
  • 30 Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern the unsavory?