2. “If only my grief could be weighed and my calamity placed on the scales.
3. For it outweighs the sands of the sea; that is why my words have been rash.
4. For the arrows of Shaddai are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors line up against me.
5. Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass or an ox bellow over his fodder?
6. Is something bland eaten without salt, is there taste in the white of an egg?
7. My soul refuses to touch them; they are like sickening food to me.
8. Oh that my request would be realized, that God would grant my hope;
9. that God would be willing to crush me, to release His hand, and cut me off!
10. Then I would still be comforted, even rejoice in spite of unrelenting pain, for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11. “What is my strength, that I should hope? What is my end, that I should endure?
12. Is my strength the strength of rock? Is my flesh bronze?
13. Is there no help within me; has not success been banished from me?
14. “A despairing person should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of Shaddai.
15. My brothers have acted deceptively, as a seasonal stream, as a torrential stream that overflows
16. when darkened by thawing ice, and obscured by snow,
17. but when they are scorched, they dry up, and in the heat, they vanish from their place.