“My soul refuses to touch them;
They are like loathsome food to me.

“Would that God were willing to crush me,
That He would loose His hand and cut me off!

“Oh that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my longing!

“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty.

“Is it that my help is not within me,
And that deliverance is driven from me?

“The caravans of Tema looked,
The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.

“But it is still my consolation,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

“What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should endure?

“Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?

“My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi,
Like the torrents of wadis which vanish,

“Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

“For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
Their poison my spirit drinks;
The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

Then Job answered,

“Teach me, and I will be silent;
And show me how I have erred.

Which are turbid because of ice
And into which the snow melts.

“Indeed, you have now become such,
You see a terror and are afraid.

“Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

“Does the wild donkey bray over his grass,
Or does the ox low over his fodder?

“When they become waterless, they are silent,
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

“Oh that my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my calamity!

“For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;
Therefore my words have been rash.

“The paths of their course wind along,
They go up into nothing and perish.

“You would even cast lots for the orphans
And barter over your friend.

“How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?

“They were disappointed for they had trusted,
They came there and were confounded.

Or, ‘Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

“Do you intend to reprove my words,
When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

“Is there injustice on my tongue?
Cannot my palate discern calamities?

“Now please look at me,
And see if I lie to your face.

“Desist now, let there be no injustice;
Even desist, my righteousness is yet in it.