Job 6  Christian Standard Bible

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^[c] the words of the Holy One.^(E)

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,^[d](F)
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^[e] 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 disappointed.^(G)
21 So this is what you have now become to me.^[f]
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 hand”
or “Redeem me from the hand 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?^(H)
27 No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.^(I)

²⁸ But now, please look at me;
I will not lie to your face.^(J)
29 Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness^(K) is still the issue.
³⁰ Is there injustice on my tongue
or can my palate not taste disaster?^(L)