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?”
约伯自述无辜
1约伯回答说：
2“要是能称量我的苦难，
把我的灾殃放在秤上，
3那将比海沙还重；
所以我言语鲁莽。
4因为全能者的箭射中我，
箭毒侵蚀我的灵，
祂使恐惧列队袭来。
5野驴有草岂会叫唤？
牛有饲料岂会哞叫？
6淡食无盐岂可下咽？
蛋白有什么滋味呢？
7我碰都不想碰，
它们令我恶心。
8唯愿我的祈求蒙应允，
愿上帝成全我的冀望，
9愿祂压碎我，
伸手毁灭我。
10这样，我还能感到欣慰，
在残酷的痛苦中雀跃，
因我没有违背圣者之言。
11我有何力量可以支撑下去？
有何前景让我忍耐下去？
12我的力量岂能坚如石？
我岂是铜造之躯？
13我毫无自救之力，
已到穷途末路。
14“即使绝望者抛弃对上帝的敬畏，
也应该得到朋友的恩待。
15我的弟兄难以信赖，如同季节河，
又像变化无常的河道——
16结冰后颜色发黑，
融雪后水流涨溢；
17水流在干季时消失，
河床在烈日下干涸。
18商队偏离原路来找水喝，
结果在荒漠中死去。
19提玛的商队来找水喝，
示巴的旅客指望解渴，
20结果希望化为泡影，
到了那里大失所望。
21同样，你们帮不了我，
你们看见灾祸便害怕。
22我何尝对你们说过，
‘请你们供应我，
把你们的财产给我一份，
23从仇敌手中拯救我，
从残暴之徒手中救赎我’？
24“请多赐教，我会闭口不言；
请指出我错在何处。
25忠言何等逆耳！
但你们的指责有何根据？
26你们既视绝望者的话如风，
还要来纠正吗？
27你们甚至抽签得孤儿，
把朋友当货物卖掉。
28恳请你们看着我，
我在你们面前撒过谎吗？
29请以仁慈为怀，公正一点；
请以仁慈为怀，因我诚实无过。
30我岂会说诡诈之言？
我岂会是非不辨？
