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Job 6
International Standard Version
Job 6
International Standard Version
Job’s Suffering is Grave
6 In rebuttal, Job replied:
2 “If only my grief could be weighed;
or my calamity piled together on a balance scale!
3 It would weigh more than the sand on the seashore![a]
Here’s why I’ve talked so rashly:
4 “The arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;
my spirit absorbs[b] their poison;[c]
God’s terrors have been arranged just for me!
5 “Will the wild donkey bray from hunger[d] if fresh grass is beside him?
Will the ox low from distress[e] if it is near its feed?
6 Tasteless food isn’t eaten without salt, is it?
Is there any taste in an egg white?
7 I cannot bring myself to touch them;[f]
food like this makes me sick.”
Job Desires Death
8 “Who will grant my wish?[g]
I wish God would grant what I’m hoping for:
9 that God would just be willing[h] to crush me;
that he would let loose[i] and eliminate me!
10 At least I could still take comfort
and rejoice in unceasing anguish,
for I didn’t conceal what the Holy One has to say.
11 “Do I have the strength to wait?
And why[j] should I be patient?
12 Am I as strong as a rock?
Am I some kind of iron man?[k]
13 There is no help within me, is there?
My resources have been driven away from me, haven’t they?
Job Accuses His Friends of Treachery
14 The friend shows gracious love for his friend,
even if he has forsaken the fear of the Almighty.
15 But my brothers have acted treacherously like a cascading river,
like torrential rivers that overflow.
16 Filled with waters made cold[l] by ice,
they are where the snow goes to hide.
17 But then the snow melts, and they disappear;
when warmed, they evaporate from their stream beds.[m]
18 Travelers divert[n] in their route;
they go into a wasteland and die.
19 Travelers from Tema search intently;
caravans from Sheba hope to find them.
20 For all their expectations, they are doomed to disappointment;
even though they have come and searched this far.
21 “And now you’re all just like them, aren’t you?[o]
You see my terror and are terrified.
22 When did I ever ask you for anything,
say ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth?’
23 or say ‘Deliver me from my enemy’s control,’[p]
or ‘Redeem me from the domination[q] of ruthless people’?”
Job Requests Mercy from His Friends
24 “Instruct me, and I’ll remain silent.
Help me understand where I’ve gone astray.
25 The truth[r] can be painful,
but what has your argument proven?
26 Did you intend your words to reprove,
even though the speech of a desperate person is just wind?
27 Indeed, you would gamble to buy an orphan;
and barter to buy your friend!
28 Now be willing to face me,
and I won’t lie to your face.
29 Repent! Let there be no injustice;
Change your ways![s] My vindication[t] is at stake.
30 Have I said anything that’s unjust?
I can discern[u] evil, can’t I?”
Footnotes
- Job 6:3 Lit. sea
- Job 6:4 Lit. drinks
- Job 6:4 Lit. heat
- Job 6:5 The Heb. lacks from hunger
- Job 6:5 The Heb. lacks from distress
- Job 6:7 The Heb. lacks them
- Job 6:8 Or Oh, that I might have my request
- Job 6:9 Lit. pleased
- Job 6:9 Lit. loose his hand
- Job 6:11 Lit. And to what end
- Job 6:12 Lit. Is my flesh bronze?
- Job 6:16 Lit. dark
- Job 6:17 Lit. their place
- Job 6:18 Lit. twist
- Job 6:21 Lit. it
- Job 6:23 Lit. hand
- Job 6:23 Lit. hand
- Job 6:25 Lit. Upright words
- Job 6:29 The Heb. lacks your ways
- Job 6:29 Or righteousness
- Job 6:30 Lit. taste
Job 6
New International Version
Job 6
New International Version
Job
6 Then Job replied:
2 “If only my anguish could be weighed
and all my misery be placed on the scales!(A)
3 It would surely outweigh the sand(B) of the seas—
no wonder my words have been impetuous.(C)
4 The arrows(D) of the Almighty(E) are in me,(F)
my spirit drinks(G) in their poison;(H)
God’s terrors(I) are marshaled against me.(J)
5 Does a wild donkey(K) bray(L) when it has grass,
or an ox bellow when it has fodder?(M)
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow[a]?(N)
7 I refuse to touch it;
such food makes me ill.(O)
8 “Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant what I hope for,(P)
9 that God would be willing to crush(Q) me,
to let loose his hand and cut off my life!(R)
10 Then I would still have this consolation(S)—
my joy in unrelenting pain(T)—
that I had not denied the words(U) of the Holy One.(V)
11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
What prospects, that I should be patient?(W)
12 Do I have the strength of stone?
Is my flesh bronze?(X)
13 Do I have any power to help myself,(Y)
now that success has been driven from me?
14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend(Z)
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.(AA)
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,(AB)
as the streams that overflow
16 when darkened by thawing ice
and swollen with melting snow,(AC)
17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,
and in the heat(AD) vanish from their channels.
18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go off into the wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema(AE) look for water,
the traveling merchants of Sheba(AF) look in hope.
20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;
they arrive there, only to be disappointed.(AG)
21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
you see something dreadful and are afraid.(AH)
22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
pay a ransom(AI) for me from your wealth,(AJ)
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?(AK)
24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;(AL)
show me where I have been wrong.(AM)
25 How painful are honest words!(AN)
But what do your arguments prove?
26 Do you mean to correct what I say,
and treat my desperate words as wind?(AO)
27 You would even cast lots(AP) for the fatherless(AQ)
and barter away your friend.
International Standard Version (ISV) 
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.