6:2 “I wish my frustration could be weighed, all my calamities laid on the scales!
6:3 They would outweigh the sands of the seas! No wonder, then, that my words come out stammered!
6:4 For the arrows of Shaddai find their mark in me, and my spirit is drinking in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
6:5 “Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass? Does an ox low when it has fodder?
6:6 Can food without flavor be eaten without salt? Do egg whites have any taste?
6:7 I refuse to touch them; such food makes me sick.
6:8 “If only I could have my wish granted, and God would give me what I’m hoping for —
6:9 that God would decide to crush me, that he would let his hand loose and cut me off!
6:10 Then I would feel consoled; so that even in the face of unending pain, I would be able to rejoice; for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
6:11 “Have I enough strength to go on waiting? What end can I expect, that I should be patient?
6:12 Is my strength the strength of stones? Is my flesh made of bronze?
6:13 Clearly, I have no help in myself; common sense has been driven from me.
6:14 “A friend should be kind to an unhappy man, even to one who abandons Shaddai.
6:15 But my brothers are as deceptive as vadis, as vadi streams that soon run dry;
6:16 they may turn dark with ice and be hidden by piled-up snow;
6:17 but as the weather warms up, they vanish; when it’s hot, they disappear.
6:18 Their courses turn this way and that; they go up into the confusing waste and are lost.
6:19 The caravans from Tema look for them, the travelers from Sh’va hope to find them;
6:20 but they are disappointed, because they were confident; on arrival there, they are frustrated.
6:21 “For now, you have become like that — just seeing my calamity makes you afraid.
6:22 Did I say to you, ‘Give me something,’ or, ‘From your wealth, offer a bribe on my behalf,’
6:23 or, ‘Save me from the enemy’s grip,’ or, ‘Redeem me from the clutches of oppressors’?
6:24 “Teach me, and I will be silent. Make me understand how I am at fault.
6:25 Honest words are forceful indeed, but what do your arguments prove?
6:26 Do you think [your own] words constitute argument, while the speech of a desperate man is merely wind?
6:27 I suppose you would even throw dice for an orphan or barter away your friend!
6:28 “So now, I beg you, look at me! Would I lie to your face?
6:29 Think it over, please; don’t let wrong be done. Think it over again: my cause is just.
6:30 Am I saying something wrong? Can’t I recognize trouble when I taste it?
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