Job's Reply to Eliphaz
It's Impossible
1Job said:
2It's impossible to weigh
my misery and grief!
3They outweigh the sand
along the beach,
and that's why I have spoken
without thinking first.
4The fearsome arrows
of God All-Powerful
have filled my soul
with their poison.
5Do oxen and wild donkeys
cry out in distress
unless they are hungry?
6What is food without salt?
What is more tasteless
than the white of an egg?
7That's how my food tastes,
and my appetite is gone.
* 8How I wish that God
would answer my prayer
9and do away with me.
10Then I would be comforted,
knowing that in all of my pain
I have never disobeyed God.
11Why should I patiently hope
when my strength is gone?
12I am not strong as stone
or bronze,
13and I have finally reached
the end of my rope.
My Friends, I Am Desperate
14My friends, I am desperate,
and you should help me,
even if I no longer respect
God All-Powerful.
* 15But you are treacherous
16like streams that swell
with melting snow,
17then suddenly disappear
in the summer heat.
18I am like a caravan,
lost in the desert
while searching for water.
19Caravans from Tema and Sheba
20thought they would find water.
But they were disappointed,
21just as I am with you.
Only one look at my suffering,
and you run away scared.
What Have I Done Wrong?
22Have I ever asked any of you
to give me a gift
23or to purchase my freedom
from brutal enemies?
24What have I done wrong?
Show me,
and I will keep quiet.
25The truth is always painful,
but your arguments
prove nothing.
26Here I am desperate,
and you consider my words
as worthless as wind.
27Why, you would sell an orphan
or your own neighbor!
28Look me straight in the eye;
I won't lie to you.
29Stop accusing me falsely;
my reputation is at stake.
30I know right from wrong,
and I am not telling lies.