¹Then Job answered and said:

²"Oh that my vexation were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!

³For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash.

⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

⁵Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass, or the ox low over his fodder?

⁶Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt, or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?

⁷My appetite refuses to touch them; they are as food that is loathsome to me.

⁸"Oh that I might have my request, and that God would fulfill my hope,

⁹that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

¹⁰This would be my comfort; I would even exult in pain unsparing, for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?

¹³Have I any help in me, when resource is driven from me?

¹⁴"He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as torrential streams that pass away,

¹⁶which are dark with ice, and where the snow hides itself.

¹⁷When they melt, they disappear; when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

¹⁸The caravans turn aside from their course; they go up into the waste and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope.

²⁰They are ashamed because they were confident; they come there and are disappointed.

²¹For you have now become nothing; you see my calamity and are afraid.

²²Have I said, 'Make me a gift'? Or, 'From your wealth offer a bribe for me'?

²³Or, 'Deliver me from the adversary's hand'? Or, 'Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless'?

²⁴"Teach me, and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.

²⁵How forceful are upright words! But what does reproof from you reprove?

²⁶Do you think that you can reprove words, when the speech of a despairing man is wind?

²⁷You would even cast lots over the fatherless, and bargain over your friend.

²⁸"But now, be pleased to look at me, for I will not lie to your face.

²⁹Please turn; let no injustice be done. Turn now; my vindication is at stake.

³⁰Is there any injustice on my tongue? Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?