1. Then Job answered:
2. If only my grief could be weighed and my devastation placed with it on a scale.
3. For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas! That is why my words are rash.
4. Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me; my spirit drinks their poison. God's terrors are arrayed against me.
5. Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass or an ox low over its fodder?
6. Is bland food eaten without salt? Is there flavor in an egg white?
7. I refuse to touch [them]; they are like contaminated food.
8. If only my request would be granted and God would provide what I hope for:
9. that He would decide to crush me, to unleash His power and cut me off!
10. It would still bring me comfort, and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11. What strength do I have that I should continue to hope? What is my future, that I should be patient?
12. Is my strength that of stone, or my flesh made of bronze?
13. Since I cannot help myself, [the hope for] success has been banished from me.
14. A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends, even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.
15. My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi, as seasonal streams that overflow
16. and become darkened because of ice, and the snow melts into them.
17. The wadis evaporate in warm weather; they disappear from their channels in hot weather.
18. Caravans turn away from their routes, go up into the desert, and perish.
19. The caravans of Tema look [for these streams]. The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.
20. They are ashamed because they had been confident [of finding water]. When they arrive there, they are frustrated.
21. So [this] is what you have now become [to me]. When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.
22. Have I ever said: Give me [something] or Pay a bribe for me from your wealth
23. or Deliver me from the enemy's power or Redeem me from the grasp of the ruthless?
24. Teach me, and I will be silent. Help me understand what I did wrong.
25. How painful honest words can be! But what does your rebuke prove?
26. Do you think that you can disprove [my] words or that a despairing man's words are [mere] wind?
27. No doubt you would cast [lots] for a fatherless child and negotiate a price to [sell] your friend.
28. But now, please look at me; would I lie to your face?
29. Reconsider; don't be unjust. Reconsider; my righteousness is still the issue.
30. Am I lying, or can I not recognize lies?