Job 6:1-30 NIrV

[1] Job replied, [2] “I wish my great pain could be weighed! I wish all my suffering could be weighed on scales! [3] I’m sure it would weigh more than the grains of sand on the seashore. No wonder I’ve been so quick to speak! [4] The Mighty One has shot me with his arrows. I have to drink their poison. God’s terrors are aimed at me. [5] Does a wild donkey cry out when it has enough grass? Does an ox call out when it has plenty of food? [6] Is food that doesn’t have any taste eaten without salt? Is there any flavor in the sap of a mallow plant? [7] I refuse to touch that kind of food. It makes me sick. [8] “I wish I could have what I’m asking for! I wish God would give me what I’m hoping for! [9] I wish he would crush me! I wish he would just cut off my life! [10] Then I’d still have one thing to comfort me. It would be that I haven’t said no to the Holy One’s commands. That would give me joy in spite of my pain that never ends. [11] “I’m so weak that I no longer have any hope. Things have gotten so bad that I can’t wait for help anymore. [12] Am I as strong as stone? Is my body made out of bronze? [13] I don’t have the power to help myself. All hope of success has been taken away from me. [14] “A person shouldn’t stop being kind to a friend. Anyone who does that stops showing respect for the Mighty One. [15] But my friends have stopped being kind to me. They are like streams that only flow for part of the year. They are like rivers that flow over their banks [16] when the ice begins to break up. The streams rise when the snow starts to melt. [17] But they stop flowing when the dry season comes. They disappear from their stream beds when the weather warms up. [18] Groups of traders turn away from their usual paths. They go off into the dry and empty land. And they die there. [19] Traders from Tema look for water. Traveling merchants from Sheba also hope to find it. [20] They become troubled because they had expected to find some. But when they arrive at the stream beds, they don’t find any water at all. [21] And now, my friends, you haven’t helped me either. You see the horrible condition I’m in. And that makes you afraid. [22] I’ve never said, ‘Give me something to help me. Use your wealth to set me free. [23] Save me from the power of my enemy. Rescue me from the power of mean people.’ [24] “Teach me. Then I’ll be quiet. Show me what I’ve done wrong. [25] Honest words are so painful! But your reasoning doesn’t prove anything. [26] Are you trying to correct what I’m saying? Are you treating my hopeless words like nothing but wind? [27] You would even cast lots for those whose fathers have died. You would even trade away your closest friend. [28] “But now please look at me. Would I tell you a lie right here in front of you? [29] Stop what you are saying. Don’t be so unfair. Think it over again. You are trying to take my honesty away from me. [30] Has my mouth spoken anything that is evil? Do my lips say things that are hateful?”