איוב ו

Then Job said in reply:

If my anguish were weighed,
My full calamity laid on the scales,

It would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
That is why I spoke recklessly.

For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
My spirit absorbs their poison;
God’s terrors are arrayed against me.

Does a wild ass bray when it has grass?
Does a bull bellow over its fodder?

Can what is tasteless be eaten without salt?
Does mallow juice have any flavor?

I refuse to touch them;
They are like food when I am sick.

Would that my request were granted,
That God gave me what I wished for;

Would that God consented to crush me,
Loosed a divine hand and cut me off.

Then this would be my consolation,
As I writhed in unsparing pains:
That I did not suppress my words against the Holy One.

What strength have I, that I should endure?
How long have I to live, that I should be patient?

Is my strength the strength of rock?
Is my flesh bronze?

Truly, I cannot help myself;
I have been deprived of resourcefulness.

A friend owes loyalty to one who fails,
Though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty;

My comrades are fickle, like a wadi,
Like a bed on which streams once ran.

They are dark with ice;
Snow obscures them;

But when they thaw, they vanish;
In the heat, they disappear where they are.

Their course twists and turns;
They run into the desert and perish.

Caravans from Tema look to them;
Processions from Sheba count on them.

They are disappointed in their hopes;
When they reach the place, they stand aghast.

So you are as nothing:, with Targum; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
At the sight of misfortune, you take fright.

Did I say to you, “I need your gift;
Pay a bribe for me out of your wealth;

Deliver me from the clutches of my enemy;
Redeem me from the violent”?

Teach me; I shall be silent;
Tell me where I am wrong.

How trenchant honest words are;
But what sort of reproof comes from you?

Do you devise words of reproof,
But count the words of someone hopeless as wind?

You would even cast lots over an orphan,
Or barter away your friend.

Now be so good as to face me;
I will not lie to your face.

Relent! Let there not be injustice;
Relent! I am still in the right.

Is injustice on my tongue?
Can my palate not discern evil?