1 ARST Then Job replied to Eliphaz and the others. He said, BSB BSB: Then Job replied:
2 ARST “If I could put all my troubles and misery on a scale and weigh them, BSB BSB: “If only my grief could be weighed and placed with my calamity on the scales.
3 ARST they would certainly be heavier than all the sand along the ocean shores. That is why I spoke very rashly about the day when I was born. BSB BSB: For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been rash.
4 ARST It is as if Almighty God had shot me with arrows. It is as if those arrows had poison on their tips and that poison had gone into my spirit. The things that God has done to me are like soldiers lined up to attack me. BSB BSB: For the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks in their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 ARST Just as a wild donkey does not complain by braying when it has plenty of grass to eat, and an ox does not complain by bellowing when it has food to eat, I would not complain if you were really helping me. BSB BSB: Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass, or an ox low over its fodder?
6 ARST People use salt to help them eat food that has little taste. People do that with the white of an egg, for example. I have been saying how I feel in order to help me deal with my situation. BSB BSB: Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg?
7 ARST But regarding food itself, I actually do not want to eat at all, because my troubles are making me too upset to eat. BSB BSB: My soul refuses to touch them; they are loathsome food to me.
8 ARST I wish that God would do for me what I have asked of him: BSB BSB: If only my request were granted and God would fulfill my hope:
9 ARST I wish that God would agree to let me die! God is certainly able to end my life. BSB BSB: that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off!
10 ARST If he did that, I would be comforted: I would know that in spite of the unrelenting pain I had suffered, I would still always have obeyed God’ s commands. BSB BSB: It still brings me comfort, and joy through unrelenting pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 ARST I do not have the strength to endure until these troubles are over. I have nothing to look forward to, so I do not want to live any longer! BSB BSB: What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What is my future, that I should be patient?
12 ARST I am not strong like stone, my body is not sturdy like bronze, so I will not be able to endure these troubles for a long time. BSB BSB: Is my strength like that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze?
13 ARST I am no longer able to help myself. My troubles are keeping me from doing that. BSB BSB: Is there any help within me now that success is driven from me?
14 ARST When a man has many troubles, his friends should be kind to him, even if he stops honoring Almighty God. BSB BSB: A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15 ARST But you, my friends, have not helped me. You are like streams in the wilderness that travelers cannot depend on, because they leave their channels empty in the dry season. BSB BSB: But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow,
16 ARST These streams are full of water when the melting ice and snow make them overflow, BSB BSB: darkened because of the ice and the inflow of melting snow,
17 ARST but when the dry season comes, there is no water flowing in those streams, and the channels dry up. BSB BSB: but ceasing in the dry season and vanishing from their channels in the heat.
18 ARST Merchant caravans turn off the road to search for water.{ However, there is no water in those stream beds, so} the merchants die in the desert. BSB BSB: Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish.
19 ARST The men in those caravans searched for some water because they were sure that they would find some. BSB BSB: The caravans of Tema look for water; the travelers of Sheba hope to find it.
20 ARST They were very disappointed, because they had been sure that they would find water. They traveled a long distance to the stream bed, but there was no water in it. BSB BSB: They are confounded because they had hoped; their arrival brings disappointment.
21 ARST Similarly, you three have not helped me at all! You have seen that terrible things have happened to me, and you are not helping me, because you are afraid that God might do similar things to you. BSB BSB: For now you are of no help; you see terror, and you are afraid.
22 ARST { After I lost all my wealth,} I did not ask any of you to give me money. I did not plead with any of you to spend some of your money to help me. BSB BSB: Have I ever said, ‘Give me something; offer me a bribe from your wealth;
23 ARST I never asked any of you to rescue me from my enemies. No, I did not ask you to save me from people who were oppressing me. BSB BSB: deliver me from the hand of the enemy; redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless’?
24 ARST Answer me now, and then I will be quiet; tell me what wrong things I have done! BSB BSB: Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand how I have erred.
25 ARST I would be willing to listen to what you had to say, even if it were painful, as long as it was helpful. But though you are trying to correct me, you are not really helping me at all. BSB BSB: How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?
26 ARST I am a man who has nothing to hope for, but you try to correct me, and you think what I say is as useless as the wind! BSB BSB: Do you intend to correct my words, and treat as wind my cry of despair?
27 ARST In fact, you are treating me as callously as if you were gambling for an orphan or arguing over the price of a friend you were selling into slavery! BSB BSB: You would even cast lots for an orphan and barter away your friend.
28 ARST Please look at me! I will not lie while I am talking straight to you. BSB BSB: But now, please look at me. Would I lie to your face?
29 ARST Please stop saying that I have sinned! Stop criticizing me unfairly! You should realize that I have not done anything wrong. BSB BSB: Reconsider; do not be unjust. Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake.
30 ARST You must not think that I am lying! I know what is right to say and what is wrong to say. BSB BSB: Is there iniquity on my tongue? Can my mouth not discern malice?
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.