Job’s Reply
1Job replied,
2“I wish my great pain could be weighed!
I wish all my suffering could be weighed on scales!
3I’m sure it would weigh more than the grains of sand on the seashore.
No wonder I’ve been so quick to speak!
4The Mighty One has shot me with his arrows.
I have to drink their poison.
God’s terrors are aimed at me.
5Does a wild donkey cry out when it has enough grass?
Does an ox call out when it has plenty of food?
6Is food that doesn’t have any taste eaten without salt?
Is there any flavor in the sap of a mallow plant?
7I refuse to touch that kind of food.
It makes me sick.
8“I wish I could have what I’m asking for!
I wish God would give me what I’m hoping for!
9I wish he would crush me!
I wish he would just cut off my life!
10Then I’d still have one thing to comfort me.
It would be that I haven’t said no to the Holy One’s commands.
That would give me joy in spite of my pain that never ends.
11“I’m so weak that I no longer have any hope.
Things have gotten so bad that I can’t wait for help anymore.
12Am I as strong as stone?
Is my body made out of bronze?
13I don’t have the power to help myself.
All hope of success has been taken away from me.
14“A person shouldn’t stop being kind to a friend.
Anyone who does that stops showing respect for the Mighty One.
15But my friends have stopped being kind to me.
They are like streams that only flow for part of the year.
They are like rivers that flow over their banks
16when the ice begins to break up.
The streams rise when the snow starts to melt.
17But they stop flowing when the dry season comes.
They disappear from their stream beds when the weather warms up.
18Groups of traders turn away from their usual paths.
They go off into the dry and empty land.
And they die there.
19Traders from Tema look for water.
Traveling merchants from Sheba also hope to find it.
20They become troubled because they had expected to find some.
But when they arrive at the stream beds,
they don’t find any water at all.
21And now, my friends, you haven’t helped me either.
You see the horrible condition I’m in.
And that makes you afraid.
22I’ve never said, ‘Give me something to help me.
Use your wealth to set me free.
23Save me from the power of my enemy.
Rescue me from the power of mean people.’
24“Teach me. Then I’ll be quiet.
Show me what I’ve done wrong.
25Honest words are so painful!
But your reasoning doesn’t prove anything.
26Are you trying to correct what I’m saying?
Are you treating my hopeless words like nothing but wind?
27You would even cast lots for those whose fathers have died.
You would even trade away your closest friend.
28“But now please look at me.
Would I tell you a lie right here in front of you?
29Stop what you are saying. Don’t be so unfair.
Think it over again.
You are trying to take my honesty away from me.
30Has my mouth spoken anything that is evil?
Do my lips say things that are hateful?”
Jobs anden tale: Et svar til Elifaz
1Hertil svarede Job:
2„Hvis min frustration kunne måles,
hvis min ulykke kunne vejes på en vægt,
3da ville den være tungere end sandet på stranden.
Det er grunden til min bitterhed.
4Den Almægtiges pile har ramt mig,
giften trænger ind i mit indre,
jeg føler mig omringet af en mægtig hær.
5Brøler en ko, når krybben er fuld?
Skryder et æsel, når græsset er grønt?
6Jeg spiser ikke smagløs mad uden salt,
og dine smagløse ord kan jeg ikke sluge.
7Jeg får kvalme af at høre på dem,
har ikke appetit på mere af den slags.
8Gid Gud ville høre min bøn
og give mig det, jeg længes efter!
9Det eneste, jeg ønsker, er at dø,
at han skærer min livstråd over.
10Jeg har kun én trøst i mine pinsler:
Jeg har altid troet på Guds ord.
11Men jeg har ikke styrke til at udholde mere,
jeg ser ingen mening med livet længere.
12Min krop er ikke lavet af bronze,
jeg er ikke så hård som en sten.
13Nej, der er intet at stille op,
jeg har mistet min livskraft og styrke.
14Den, der er hård imod en fortvivlet ven,
har ingen respekt for den almægtige Gud.
15Mine venner har svigtet mig,
de er som en bjergbæk, hvis vand er tørret ud.
16Om foråret er den fuld af is,
og smeltevandet får den til at svulme.
17Men når varmen sætter ind, tørrer den ud,
dens vand er sporløst forsvundet.
18En karavane satser på at finde en oase,
men går til af tørst, hvis den er tørret ud.
19Karavaner fra Tema spejder efter vand,
rejsende fra Saba håber at få øje på en oase,
20men når de kommer derhen, skuffes de,
alle deres forhåbninger var forgæves.
21Sådan har I skuffet mig nu.
I vender jer fra mig i afsky.
22Har jeg bedt jer om at komme med gaver
eller dele jeres rigdomme med mig?
23Har jeg bedt jer om at redde mig fra fjendens hånd
eller betale løsesum for at sætte mig i frihed?
24Hvis I giver mig et fornuftigt svar,
skal jeg nok høre efter.
Hvis I kan sige mig, hvor jeg har fejlet,
lytter jeg gerne til jer.
25Det kan godt gøre ondt at få sandheden at vide,
men jeres udgydelser gavner mig intet.
26Måske er mit ordvalg kritisabelt,
men tænk dog på, hvor desperat jeg er!
27I ville udnytte et forældreløst barn
eller sælge jeres venner som slaver.
28Prøv at se på mig!
Tror I, jeg lyver jer op i ansigtet?
29Hvorfor går I ud fra, at jeg er skyldig,
når jeg intet forkert har gjort?
30Aldrig er en løgn kommet over mine læber.
Tror I ikke, jeg kender forskel på godt og ondt?”
