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1Then Job answered and said,[#Hebrew “And”]
2“If only my vexation could be well weighed,
and my calamity could be lifted up together with it in the balances,
3for then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;
therefore my words have been rash,
4for the arrows of Shaddai are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5Does the wild ass bray over grass,
or the ox bellow over its fodder?
6Can tasteless food be eaten without salt,[#Hebrew “from without”]
or is there taste in the white of a marshmallow plant?
7I refused to touch them;[#Literally “My soul/throat refuses”]
they are like food that will make me ill.
8“O that my request may come,[#Literally “Who would give”]
and that God may grant my hope,
9that God would decide that he would crush me,[#Hebrew “and”; #Hebrew “and”]
that he would let loose his hand and kill me.
10But it will still be my consolation,[#Hebrew “And”]
and I would recoil in unrelenting pain,
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should hold out?
12Or is my strength like the strength of stones?
Or is my flesh bronze?
13Indeed, my help is not in me,[#An interrogative marker plus “if”]
and any success is driven from me.
14“Loyal love should come for the afflicted from his friend,[#Or “Kindness”]
even if he forsakes the fear of Shaddai.
15My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed;
like a streambed of wadis they flow away,
16which are growing dark because of ice upon them,
it will pile up snow.
17In time they dry up, they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18The paths of their way wind around;
they go up into the wasteland, and they perish.
19The caravans of Tema looked;
the traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.
20They are disappointed, because they trusted;
they came here and they are confounded.
21“For now you have become such;[#Plural throughout the rest of this chapter; #Literally “to it,” or “for it”]
you see terrors, and you fear.
22Is it because I have said, ‘Give to me,’
or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?
23or, ‘Save me from the foe’s hand,’[#Hebrew “and”]
or, ‘Ransom me from the tyrants’ hand’?
24Teach me, and I myself will be silent;[#Emphatic personal pronoun]
and make me understand how I have gone astray.
25How painful are upright words![#Literally “words of uprightness”]
But what does your reproof reprove?
26Do you intend to reprove my words[#Or “Do you intend to reprove with words”]
and consider the words of a desperate man as wind?
27Even over the orphan you would cast the lot,
and you would bargain over your friend.
28“Therefore be prepared, turn to me,[#Literally “And now,” or “And so then”]
and I surely will not lie to your face.
29Please turn, let no injustice happen;
indeed, turn, my righteousness is still intact.
30Is there injustice on my tongue?
Or can my palate not discern calamity?