1 T hen Job answered,

2 O h, that my impatience and vexation might be weighed and all my calamity be laid up over against them in the balances, one against the other!

3 F or now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash and wild,

4 b ecause the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison which my spirit drinks up; the terrors of God set themselves in array against me.

5 D oes the wild ass bray when it has grass? Or does the ox low over its fodder?

6 C an that which has no taste to it be eaten without salt? Or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?

7 m y soul refuses to touch! Such things are like diseased food to me!

8 O h, that I might have my request, and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

9 I even wish that it would please God to crush me, that He would let loose His hand and cut me off!

10 T hen would I still have consolation—yes, I would leap amid unsparing pain —that I have not concealed or denied the words of the Holy One!

11 W hat strength have I left, that I should wait and hope? And what is ahead of me, that I should be patient?

12 I s my strength and endurance that of stones? Or is my flesh made of bronze?

13 I s it not that I have no help in myself, and that wisdom is quite driven from me?

14 T o him who is about to faint and despair, kindness is due from his friend, lest he forsake the fear of the Almighty.

15 m y brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel of brooks that pass away,

16 W hich are black and turbid by reason of the ice, and in which the snows hides itself;

17 W hen they get warm, they shrink and disappear; when it is hot, they vanish out of their place.

18 T he caravans which travel by way of them turn aside; they go into the waste places and perish.

19 T he caravans of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.

20 T hey were confounded because they had hoped; they came there and were bitterly disappointed.

21 N ow to me you are; you see my dismay and terror, and you are afraid.

22 D id I ever say, Bring me a gift, or Pay a bribe on my account from your wealth

23 T o deliver me from the adversary’s hand, or Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?

24 T each me, and I will hold my peace; and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

25 H ow forcible are words of straightforward speech! But what does your arguing argue and prove or your reproof reprove?

26 D o you imagine your words to be an argument, but the speeches of one who is desperate to be as wind?

27 Y es, you would cast lots over the fatherless and bargain away your friend.

28 N ow be pleased to look upon me, that it may be evident to you if I lie.

29 R eturn, I pray you, let there be no injustice; yes, return again, my vindication is in it.

30 I s there wrong on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern what is destructive?