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Job 6:16-30

Job 6:14-30 The Message (MSG)

“When desperate people give up on God Almighty, their friends, at least, should stick with them. But my brothers are fickle as a gulch in the desert— one day they’re gushing with water From melting ice and snow cascading out of the mountains, But by midsummer they’re dry, gullies baked dry in the sun. Travelers who spot them and go out of their way for a drink end up in a waterless gulch and die of thirst. Merchant caravans from Tema see them and expect water, tourists from Sheba hope for a cool drink. They arrive so confident—but what a disappointment! They get there, and their faces fall! And you, my so-called friends, are no better— there’s nothing to you! One look at a hard scene and you shrink in fear. It’s not as though I asked you for anything— I didn’t ask you for one red cent— Nor did I beg you to go out on a limb for me. So why all this dodging and shuffling? “Confront me with the truth and I’ll shut up, show me where I’ve gone off the track. Honest words never hurt anyone, but what’s the point of all this pious bluster? You pretend to tell me what’s wrong with my life, but treat my words of anguish as so much hot air. Are people mere things to you? Are friends just items of profit and loss? “Look me in the eyes! Do you think I’d lie to your face? Think it over—no double-talk! Think carefully—my integrity is on the line! Can you detect anything false in what I say? Don’t you trust me to discern good from evil?”

Job 6:16-30 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Which are dull and dirty because of ice, And into which the snow melts and hides itself; When it is warm, they are silent and cease to flow; When it is hot, they vanish from their place. “The paths of their course wind along, They go up into nothing and perish. [Your counsel is as helpful to me as a dry streambed in the heat of summer.] “The caravans of Tema looked [for water], The caravans of Sheba waited for them [in vain]. “They were put to shame and disappointed because they had trusted [that they would find water]; They came there and were ashamed. “Indeed, you have now become like a dried-up stream, You see a terror [believing me to be a victim of the wrath of God] and are afraid [to be compassionate]. “Did I ever say, ‘Give me something,’ Or, ‘Pay a bribe for me from your wealth,’ Or, ‘Rescue me from the adversary’s hand,’ Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’? ¶“Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have erred. “How painful are words of honesty. But what does your argument prove? “Do you intend to reprove my words [with a convincing argument], When the words of one in despair belong to the wind [and go ignored]? “You would cast lots (gamble) over the fatherless And bargain away your friend. “Now please look at me, And see if I lie to your face [for you know that I would not]. “Turn away [from your suspicion], let there be no injustice; Turn away, my righteousness and vindication is still in it. “Is there injustice or malice on my tongue? Can my palate not discern what is destructive?