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But Job answered and said,
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Oh that one would indeed weigh the wrath that is upon me, And take up my griefs in a balance together!
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And verily they would be heavier than the sand by the seashore: But, as it seems, my words are vain.
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For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, Whose violence drinks up my blood: Whenever I am going to speak, they pierce me.
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What then? will the wild ass bray for nothing, if he is not seeking food? Or again, will the ox low at the manger, when he has fodder?
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Shall bread be eaten without salt? Or again, is there taste in empty words?
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For my wrath cannot cease; For I perceive my food as the smell of a lion to be loathsome.
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For oh that he would grant my desire, and my petition might come, And the Lord would grant my hope!
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Let the Lord begin and wound me, But let him not utterly destroy me.
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Let the grave be my city, upon the walls of which I have leaped: I will not shrink from it; For I have not denied the holy words of my God.
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For what is my strength, that I continue? What is my time, that my soul endures?
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Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass?
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Or have I not trusted in him? But help is far from me.
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Mercy has rejected me; And the visitation of the Lord has disregarded me.
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My nearest relations have not regarded me; They have passed me by like a failing brook, or like a wave.
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They who used to reverence me, now have come against me Like snow or congealed ice.
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When it has melted at the approach of heat, it is not known what it was.
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Thus I also have been deserted of all; And I am ruined, and become an outcast.
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Behold the ways of the Temanites, Ye that mark the paths of the Sabeans.
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They too that trust in cities and riches Shall come to shame.
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But ye also have come to me without pity; So that beholding my wound ye are afraid.
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What? have I made any demand of you? Or do I ask for strength from you,
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To deliver me from enemies, Or to rescue me from the hand of the mighty ones?
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Teach ye me, and I will be silent: If in anything I have erred, tell me.
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But as it seems, the words of a true man are vain, Because I do not ask strength of you.
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Neither will your reproof cause me to cease my words, For neither will I endure the sound of your speech.
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Even because ye attack the fatherless, And insult your friend.
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But now, having looked upon your countenances, I will not lie.
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Sit down now, and let there not be unrighteousness; And unite again with the just.
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For there is no injustice in my tongue; And does not my throat meditate understanding?