[1] Then Job answered: [2] "I have heard many things like these. You are all painful comforters! [3] Will your long, useless speeches never end? What makes you keep on arguing? [4] I also could speak as you do if you were in my place. I could make great speeches against you. And I could shake my head at you. [5] But, instead, my words would encourage you. I would speak words of comfort to bring you relief. [6] "But if I speak, my pain does not become less. And if I don't speak, it still does not go away. [7] God, you have surely taken away my strength. You have destroyed my whole family. [8] You have made me thin and weak. And people feel that this shows I have done wrong. [9] God attacks me and tears me with anger. He grinds his teeth at me. My enemy stares at me with his angry eyes. [10] People open their mouths to make fun of me. They hit my cheeks to insult me. They join together against me. [11] God has turned me over to evil men. He has thrown me into the clutches of the wicked. [12] Everything was fine with me. But then God broke me into pieces. He held me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target. [13] God's archers surround me. He stabs my kidneys and has no mercy. He spills my blood on the ground. [14] Again and again God attacks me. He runs at me like a soldier. [15] "I have sewed rough cloth over my skin to show my sadness. I have buried my face in the dust. [16] My face is red from crying. I have dark circles around my eyes. [17] And yet my hands have never done anything cruel. And my prayer is pure. [18] "Earth, please do not cover up my blood. Don't let my cry ever stop being heard! [19] Even now I have one who speaks for me in heaven. The one who is on my side is high above. [20] The one who speaks for me is my friend. While he does this, my eyes pour out tears to God. [21] He begs God on behalf of a man as a man begs for his friend. [22] "Only a few years will pass before I go on the journey from which I cannot return.
