Job
Summary
Job Chapter 6 is Job’s first response, where he defends the intensity of his grief and questions the sincerity of his friends' comfort. He compares his suffering to a crushing weight and his friends to a desert stream that dries up when most needed. Job insists that he has not denied the words of the Holy One and pleads for a fair hearing rather than empty platitudes. He challenges them to point out his specific error instead of assuming his guilt based on his circumstances. This chapter reveals Job's isolation and his growing frustration with those who judge without empathy.
Then Job replied:
"If only my misery could be weighed and all my calamities be placed on the scales!"
"They would surely outweigh the sand of the seas; no wonder my words have been rash."
"The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshalled against me."
"Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox low when it has fodder?"
"Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there any flavour in the slime of a marshmallow plant?"
"I refuse to touch them; such food makes me ill."
"Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for,"
"that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off!"
"Then I would still have this consolation, my joy in unrelenting pain, that I had not denied the words of the Holy One."
"What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects do I have, that I should be patient?"
"Is my strength the strength of stone? Is my flesh made of bronze?"
"Do I have any power to help myself, now that resources have been driven from me?"
"A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty."
"But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow"
"when darkened by melting ice and swollen with consuming snow,"
"but which stop flowing in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels."
"Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go up into the wasteland and perish."
"The caravans of Tema look for water, the travelling merchants of Sheba wait in hope."
"They are distressed, because they had been confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed."
"Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something terrible and are afraid."
"Have I ever said, 'Give me something on my behalf,' or 'Pay a bribe for me from your wealth'?"
"'Deliver me from the hand of the enemy,' or 'Redeem me from the clutches of the ruthless'?"
"Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong."
"How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove?"
"Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat the words of a desperate man as wind?"
"You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend."
"But now, be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face?"
"Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake."
"Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice?"