Job 6 — The Holy Bible

Mercy Has Rejected Me

Job 6, verse 1. But Job answered and said:

“I wish there were someone who would weigh the wrath upon me,

And at the same time lift up my griefs on a scale.

For indeed they would be heavier than the sand of the seashore;

But as it seems, my words are worthless.

For the arrows of the Lord are in my body,

Whose anger drinks my blood;

For when I begin to speak, they pierce me.

What then? Will the wild donkey bray for no reason

If he is not seeking food?

Or will the ox moo at the manger when it has fodder?

Will bread be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in empty words?

My soul cannot stop groaning,

For I see my food to be like the smell of a lion.

“Would that my request would come about,

And the Lord would grant my hope.

Let the Lord begin and wound me,

But let Him not utterly destroy me.

May the grave be my city upon the walls which I have leaped.

I will not turn away from it,

For I have not lied about the holy words of my God.

What strength do I have, that I should continue?

For how long would my soul endure?

Is my strength the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh made of bronze?

Or have I not trusted in Him?

But help is far from me.

“Mercy has rejected me;

And the visitation of the Lord has disregarded me.

My relatives pay no attention to me.

They pass me by like a wave,

Or as though I were a failing brook.

Those who once reverenced me

Now look upon me like snow or frozen ice.

For when it melts at the approach of the heat,

It is no longer recognized for what it was.

Thus I have been forsaken by all,

But I am also lost and homeless.

Look at the ways of Temanites,

You who mark the paths of Sabeans.

Those who put their trust in cities and wealth

Will be debtors to shame.

But you have also come to me without mercy,

That seeing my wound you were afraid.

What? Have I ever made any demand of you?

Or do I need your strength

To deliver me from enemies,

Or to rescue me from the hand of the mighty?

“Teach me, and I will keep quiet.

Tell me wherein I have erred.

But as it seems, the words of a true man are worthless,

For I do not ask strength of you.

Neither will your rebuke cause me to cease my words,

Nor will I endure the sound of your word.

Nevertheless you attack the orphan,

And you jump on your friend.

Now therefore, after I looked on your faces, I will not lie.

Sit down now, and may there be no wrongdoing;

And come together again with a righteous man.

There is no wrongdoing on my tongue,

Or does not my throat cultivate understanding?