איוב ט״זJob 16

Job said in reply:

I have often heard such things;
You are all mischievous comforters.

Have windy words no limit?
What afflicts you that you speak on?

I would also talk like you
If you were in my place;
I would barrage you with words,
I would wag my head over you.

I would encourage you with advice,
My moving lips would bring relief.

If I speak, my pain will not be relieved,
And if I do not—what have I lost?

Now [God] has truly worn me out;
You have destroyed my whole community.

You have shriveled me;
My gauntness serves as a witness,
And testifies against me.

By God’s anger I am torn and persecuted;
With teeth gnashing at me,
My Foe stabs me with a stare.

They open wide their mouths at me;
Reviling me, they strike my cheeks;
They inflame themselves against me.

God hands me over to an evildoer,
Thrusts me into the clutches of the wicked.

I had been untroubled, and [God] broke me in pieces—
Taking me by the scruff and shattering me,
Setting me up as a target,

As archers surrounded me;
My kidneys were pierced; I was shown no mercy;
My bile spilled onto the ground.

[God] breached me, breach after breach,
Rushing at me like a warrior.

I sewed sackcloth over my skin;
I buried my glory in the dust.

My face is red with weeping;
Darkness covers my eyes

For no injustice on my part
And for the purity of my prayer!

Earth, do not cover my blood;
Let there be no resting place for my outcry!

Surely now my witness is in heaven;
The One who can testify for me is on high.

O my advocates, my fellows,
Before God my eyes shed tears;

Let arbitration be made between a person and God
As between one mortal and another.

For a few more years will pass,
And I shall go the way of no return.