Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just 1 UDB Then Job spoke again to Eliphaz: BSB BSB: Then Job replied:
2 UDB "If all my troubles and misery could be put on a scale and weighed, BSB BSB: “If only my grief could be weighed and placed with my calamity on the scales.
3 UDB they would be heavier than all the sand along the ocean shores. That is why I spoke very rashly about the day that I was born. BSB BSB: For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas—no wonder my words have been rash.
4 UDB It is as though Almighty God has shot me with arrows. It is as though those arrows have poison on their tips, and that poison has 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 UDB Just like 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 UDB People complain when they must eat food that has no salt or food that is slimy and tasteless; that is what your words are like, Eliphaz. BSB BSB: Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg?
7 UDB I do not want to eat food like that, because it disgusts me, and I do not like what you have said to me. BSB BSB: My soul refuses to touch them; they are loathsome food to me.
8 UDB 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 UDB I wish that he would crush me and let me die. I wish that he would reach out his hand and take away my life. BSB BSB: that God would be willing to crush me, to unleash His hand and cut me off!
10 UDB If he would do that, I would be comforted because I would know that in spite of the great pain that I have suffered, I have always obeyed what God, the Holy One, has commanded. BSB BSB: It still brings me comfort, and joy through unrelenting pain, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 UDB But now I do not have enough strength to endure all these things. And since I have nothing to hope for in the future, it is difficult for me to be patient now. BSB BSB: What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What is my future, that I should be patient?
12 UDB I am not strong like rocks are, and my body is not made of bronze. BSB BSB: Is my strength like that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze?
13 UDB So I am not able to help myself; I am not wise enough for that. BSB BSB: Is there any help within me now that success is driven from me?
14 UDB 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 UDB But you, my friends, are not dependable. You are like streams in the wilderness: They spill over their banks in the spring BSB BSB: But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow,
16 UDB when the melting ice and snow make them overflow, BSB BSB: darkened because of the ice and the inflow of melting snow,
17 UDB 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 UDB The caravans of merchants turn off their road to search for water, but there is no water in those streambeds, so the merchants die in the desert. BSB BSB: Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish.
19 UDB 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 UDB But they did not find any, so they were very disappointed. BSB BSB: They are confounded because they had hoped; their arrival brings disappointment.
21 UDB Similarly, you friends have not helped me at all! You have seen that terrible things have happened to me, and 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 UDB After I lost all my wealth, I did not ask any of you for 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 UDB I never asked any of you to rescue me from my enemies, and I did not ask you to save me from those who oppressed me. BSB BSB: deliver me from the hand of the enemy; redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless’?
24 UDB 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 UDB When people speak what is true, it can be painful for the listener to hear honest words. But what have all your arguments proven about me? BSB BSB: How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?
26 UDB 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 UDB You do not sympathize with me at all for the things that I am suffering. You will do anything to get something for yourselves! You would even play a game to see who gets an orphan as a prize! BSB BSB: You would even cast lots for an orphan and barter away your friend.
28 UDB 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 UDB Stop saying that I have sinned, and stop criticizing me unjustly! You should realize that I have not done things that are wrong. BSB BSB: Reconsider; do not be unjust. Reconsider, for my righteousness is at stake.
30 UDB Do you think that I am lying? No, I am not lying, because I know what is right to say, and what is wrong." 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.