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1.
Then Job replied:
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2.
"If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales!
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3.
It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas--no wonder my words have been impetuous.
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4.
The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God's terrors are marshaled against me.
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5.
Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox bellow when it has fodder?
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6.
Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg?
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7.
I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill.
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8.
"Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for,
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9.
that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut me off!
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10.
Then I would still have this consolation--my joy in unrelenting pain--that I had not denied the words of the Holy One.
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11.
"What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient?
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12.
Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze?
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13.
Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?
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14.
"A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
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15.
But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow
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16.
when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow,
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17.
but that cease to flow in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels.
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18.
Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go up into the wasteland and perish.
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19.
The caravans of Tema look for water, the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope.
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20.
They are distressed, because they had been confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed.
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21.
Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid.
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22.
Have I ever said, 'Give something on my behalf, pay a ransom for me from your wealth,
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23.
deliver me from the hand of the enemy, ransom me from the clutches of the ruthless'?
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24.
"Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong.
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25.
How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove?
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26.
Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?
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27.
You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend.
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28.
"But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face?
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29.
Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake.
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30.
Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice?
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