| 1 | Then Job answered and said, |
| 2 | Oh that my vexation were but weighed, And all my calamity laid in the balances! |
| 3 | For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas: Therefore have my words been rash. |
| 4 | For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, The poison whereof my spirit drinketh up: The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me. |
| 5 | Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? Or loweth the ox over his fodder? |
| 6 | Can that which hath no savor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg? |
| 7 | My soul refuseth to touch [them]; They are as loathsome food to me. |
| 8 | Oh that I might have my request; And that God would grant [me] the thing that I long for! |
| 9 | Even that it would please God to crush me; That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! |
| 10 | And be it still my consolation, Yea, let me exult in pain that spareth not, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One. |
| 11 | What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is mine end, that I should be patient? |
| 12 | Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass? |
| 13 | Is it not that I have no help in me, And that wisdom is driven quite from me? |
| 14 | To him that is ready to faint kindness [should be showed] from his friend; Even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. |
| 15 | My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, As the channel of brooks that pass away; |
| 16 | Which are black by reason of the ice, [And] wherein the snow hideth itself: |
| 17 | What time they wax warm, they vanish; When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. |
| 18 | The caravans [that travel] by the way of them turn aside; They go up into the waste, and perish. |
| 19 | The caravans of Tema looked, The companies of Sheba waited for them. |
| 20 | They were put to shame because they had hoped; They came thither, and were confounded. |
| 21 | For now ye are nothing; Ye see a terror, and are afraid. |
| 22 | Did I say, Give unto me? Or, Offer a present for me of your substance? |
| 23 | Or, Deliver me from the adversary`s hand? Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors? |
| 24 | Teach me, and I will hold my peace; And cause me to understand wherein I have erred. |
| 25 | How forcible are words of uprightness! But your reproof, what doth it reprove? |
| 26 | Do ye think to reprove words, Seeing that the speeches of one that is desperate are as wind? |
| 27 | Yea, ye would cast [lots] upon the fatherless, And make merchandise of your friend. |
| 28 | Now therefore be pleased to look upon me; For surely I shall not lie to your face. |
| 29 | Return, I pray you, let there be no injustice; Yea, return again, my cause is righteous. |
| 30 | Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern mischievous things? |
