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Job 6 :: New Living Translation (NLT)

Job’s Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
Job 6:1Then Job spoke again:
Job 6:2“If my misery could be weighed
and my troubles be put on the scales,
Job 6:3they would outweigh all the sands of the sea.
That is why I spoke impulsively.
Job 6:4For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.
Their poison infects my spirit.
God’s terrors are lined up against me.
Job 6:5Don’t I have a right to complain?
Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass,
and oxen bellow when they have no food?
Job 6:6Don’t people complain about unsalted food?
Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?[fn]
Job 6:7My appetite disappears when I look at it;
I gag at the thought of eating it!
Job 6:8“Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant my desire.
Job 6:9I wish he would crush me.
I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.
Job 6:10At least I can take comfort in this:
Despite the pain,
I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
Job 6:11But I don’t have the strength to endure.
I have nothing to live for.
Job 6:12Do I have the strength of a stone?
Is my body made of bronze?
Job 6:13No, I am utterly helpless,
without any chance of success.
Job 6:14“One should be kind to a fainting friend,
but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.[fn]
Job 6:15My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook
that overflows its banks in the spring
Job 6:16when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.
Job 6:17But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears.
The brook vanishes in the heat.
Job 6:18The caravans turn aside to be refreshed,
but there is nothing to drink, so they die.
Job 6:19The caravans from Tema search for this water;
the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.
Job 6:20They count on it but are disappointed.
When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.
Job 6:21You, too, have given no help.
You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.
Job 6:22But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift?
Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?
Job 6:23Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies,
or to save me from ruthless people?
Job 6:24Teach me, and I will keep quiet.
Show me what I have done wrong.
Job 6:25Honest words can be painful,
but what do your criticisms amount to?
Job 6:26Do you think your words are convincing
when you disregard my cry of desperation?
Job 6:27You would even send an orphan into slavery[fn]
or sell a friend.
Job 6:28Look at me!
Would I lie to your face?
Job 6:29Stop assuming my guilt,
for I have done no wrong.
Job 6:30Do you think I am lying?
Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?
NLT Footnotes
Or the tasteless juice of the mallow plant?
Or friend, / or he might lose his fear of the Almighty.
Hebrew even gamble over an orphan.
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Job Chapter 6 — Additional Translations: