1 Then Job answered:
2 “I wish my suffering could be weighed.And I wish my misery could be put on the scales.
3 My sadness would be heavier than the sand of the seas.No wonder my words seem careless.
4 The arrows of God All-Powerful are in me.My spirit drinks in their poison.God’s terrors are gathered against me.
5 A wild donkey does not bray when it has grass to eat.An ox is quiet when it has feed.
6 Tasteless food is not eaten without salt.There is no flavor in the white part of an egg.
7 I refuse to touch it.Such food makes me sick.
8 “How I wish I might have what I ask for.How I wish God would give me what I hope for.
9 I wish God would be willing to crush meand reach out his hand to destroy me.
10 Then I would have this comfort.I would be glad even in this unending pain.I would know I did not reject the words of the Holy One.
11 “I do not have the strength to wait.There is nothing to hope for so how can I be patient?
12 I do not have the strength of stone.My flesh is not bronze.
13 I have no power to help myself.This is because success has been taken away from me.
14 “They say, ‘A man’s friends should be kind to him when he is in trouble.This should be done even if he stops fearing God All-Powerful.’
15 But my brothers cannot be counted on.They are like streams that do not flow regularly,streams that sometimes run over.
16 They are like streams made dark by melting ice,that rise with melting snow.
17 But they stop flowing when it is the dry season.They go away when it is hot.
18 Groups of travelers turn away from their paths.They go into the desert and die.
19 The groups of travelers from Tema look for water.The traders of Sheba who travel look hopefully.
20 They are upset because they had been sure.But when they arrive, they are disappointed.
21 You also have been no help.You see something terrible, and you are afraid.
22 I have never said, ‘Give me a gift.Use your wealth to pay my debt.
23 Save me from the enemy’s power.Buy me back from the clutches of cruel people.’
24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet.Show me where I have been wrong.
25 Honest words are painful!But your arguments prove nothing.
26 Do you mean to correct what I say?Will you treat the words of a troubled man as if they were only wind?
27 You would even throw lots for orphans.And you would trade away your friend.
28 “But now please look at me.I would not lie to your face.
29 Change your mind. Do not be unfair.Think again, because my innocence is being questioned.
30 What I am saying is not wicked.I can tell the difference between right and wrong.