2 “Oh that my vexation were actually weighedAnd laid in the balances together with my destruction!
3 “For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;Therefore my words have been rash.
4 “For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, 6:4Lit Whose Their poison my spirit drinks;The horrors of God are arranged against me.
5 “Does the wild donkey bray overhisgrass,Or does the ox low over his fodder?
6 “Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,Or is there any taste in the slime of a 6:6Heb hallamuth, meaning uncertain; possibly the juice of a plant yolk?
7 “My soul refuses to touchthem;They are like loathsome food to me.
8 ¶“Oh that my request might come to pass,And that God would grant my hope!
9 “Would that God were willing to crush me,That He would release His hand and cut me off!
10 “But it is still my comfort,And I rejoice in unsparing pain,That I have notat allhidden away the words of the Holy One.
11 “What is my strength, that I should wait?And what is my end, that I should 6:11Lit prolong my soul endure?
12 “Is my strength the strength of stones,Or is my flesh bronze?
13 “Is it that there is no help within me,And that the 6:13Ancient versions deliverance successof sound wisdom is driven from me?
14 ¶“For the despairing man lovingkindnessshould befrom his friend;But he forsakes the 6:14Or reverence fear of the Almighty.
15 “My brothers have betrayedmelike a 6:15 Or brook wadi,Like the torrents of 6:15 Or brooks wadis which pass away,
16 Which grow dark because of iceAndupon which the snow hides itself.
17 “When they become waterless, they 6:17 Or cease are silent;When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18 “The 6:18 Or caravans turn from their course paths of their course wind along;They go up into a formlessplaceand perish.
19 “The caravans of Tema looked;The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.
20 “They were ashamed for they had trusted;They came there and were humiliated.
21 “Indeed, you have now become such;You see a terror and are afraid.
22 “Have I said, ‘Give mesomething,’Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
23 Or, ‘Give me escape from the hand of the adversary,’Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless men’?
24 ¶“Instruct me, and I will be silent;And cause me to understand how I have erred.
25 “How painful are upright words!But what does your reproof prove?
26 “Do you think to reprovemywords,Orthinkof the words of one in despair as wind?
27 “You would even castlotsfor the orphansAnd bargain over your friend.
28 “So now be willing to face me,Andseeif I lie to your face.
29 “Now turnfrom this, let there be no unrighteousness;Even turnfrom this, my righteousness is yet in it.
30 “Is there unrighteousness on my tongue?Cannot my palate discern 6:30Or words destruction?