1. But Job answered:
2. “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed,and my calamity laid with it on the scales!
3. For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;therefore my words are stuck in my throat.
4. For the arrows of the Almighty are withinme;my spirit drinks in their poison;the terrors of God are arrayed againstme.
5. Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass?Or the ox bellow over his fodder?
6. Is tasteless food eaten without salt?Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
7. My soul refuses to touch them;they are like loathsome food to me.
8. “Oh, that I might have my request,and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
9. That it would please God to crush me,that He would let loose His hand and cut me off!
10. Then I would still have comfort;I would revel in pain; it will not subside,for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
11. “What strength do I have, that I should hope?And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?
12. Is my strength the strength of stones?Or is my flesh made of brass?
13. Is there no help within me?And is success banished from me?
14. “A despairing man should be shown kindness from his friend,or he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15. My brothers have acted deceitfully like a riverbed,like the streams of the riverbeds that run dry;