[1] Job's Reply to Eliphaz Job said: [2] It's impossible to weigh my misery and grief! [3] They outweigh the sand along the beach, and that's why I have spoken without thinking first. [4] The fearsome arrows of God All-Powerful have filled my soul with their poison. [5] Do oxen and wild donkeys cry out in distress unless they are hungry? [6] What is food without salt? What is more tasteless than the white of an egg? [7] That's how my food tastes, and my appetite is gone. [8] How I wish that God would answer my prayer [9] and do away with me. [10] Then I would be comforted, knowing that in all of my pain I have never disobeyed God. [11] Why should I patiently hope when my strength is gone? [12] I am not strong as stone or bronze, [13] and I have finally reached the end of my rope. [14] My friends, I am desperate, and you should help me, even if I no longer respect God All-Powerful. [15] But you are treacherous [16] as streams that swell with melting snow, [17] then suddenly disappear in the summer heat. [18] I am like a caravan, lost in the desert while searching for water. [19] Caravans from Tema and Sheba [20] thought they would find water. But they were disappointed, [21] just as I am with you. Only one look at my suffering, and you run away scared. [22] Have I ever asked any of you to give me a gift [23] or to purchase my freedom from brutal enemies? [24] What have I done wrong? Show me, and I will keep quiet. [25] The truth is always painful, but your arguments prove nothing. [26] Here I am desperate, and you consider my words as worthless as wind. [27] Why, you would sell an orphan or your own neighbor! [28] Look me straight in the eye; I won't lie to you. [29] Stop accusing me falsely; my reputation is at stake. [30] I know right from wrong, and I am not telling lies.
