Job 6
1 Respondens autem Job, dixit:
But Job answered and said,
2 [Utinam appenderentur peccata mea quibus iram merui, et calamitas quam patior, in statera!
Oh that one would indeed weigh the wrath that is upon me, and take up my griefs in a balance together!
3 Quasi arena maris hæc gravior appareret; unde et verba mea dolore sunt plena:
And verily they would be heavier than the sand by the seashore: but, as it seems, my words are vain.
4 quia sagittæ Domini in me sunt, quarum indignatio ebibit spiritum meum; et terrores Domini militant contra me.
For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, whose violence drinks up my blood: whenever I am going to speak, they pierce me.
5 Numquid rugiet onager cum habuerit herbam? aut mugiet bos cum ante præsepe plenum steterit?
What then? will the wild ass bray for nothing, if he is not seeking food? or again, will the ox low at the manger, when he has a fodder?
6 aut poterit comedi insulsum, quod non est sale conditum? aut potest aliquis gustare quod gustatum affert mortem?
Shall bread be eaten without salt? or again, is there taste in empty words?
7 Quæ prius nolebat tangere anima mea, nunc, præ angustia, cibi mei sunt.
For my wrath cannot cease; for I perceive my food as the smell of a lion [to be] loathsome.
8 Quis det ut veniat petitio mea, et quod expecto tribuat mihi Deus?
For oh that he would grant [my desire], and my petition might come, and the Lord would grant my hope!
9 et qui cœpit, ipse me conterat; solvat manum suam, et succidat me?
Let the Lord begin and wound me, but let him not utterly destroy me.
10 Et hæc mihi sit consolatio, ut affligens me dolore, non parcat, nec contradicam sermonibus Sancti.
Let the grave be my city, upon the walls of which I have leaped: I will not shrink from it; for I have not denied the holy words of my God.
11 Quæ est enim fortitudo mea, ut sustineam? aut quis finis meus, ut patienter agam?
For what is my strength, that I continue? what is my time, that my soul endures?
12 Nec fortitudo lapidum fortitudo mea, nec caro mea ænea est.
Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?
13 Ecce non est auxilium mihi in me, et necessarii quoque mei recesserunt a me.
Or have I not trusted in him? but help is [far] from me.
14 Qui tollit ab amico suo misericordiam, timorem Domini derelinquit.
Mercy has rejected me; and the visitation of the Lord has disregarded me.
15 Fratres mei præterierunt me, sicut torrens qui raptim transit in convallibus.
My nearest relations have not regarded me; they have passed me by like a failing brook, or like a wave.
16 Qui timent pruinam, irruet super eos nix.
They who used to reverence me, now have come against me like snow or congealed ice.
17 Tempore quo fuerint dissipati, peribunt; et ut incaluerit, solventur de loco suo.
When it has melted at the approach of heat, it is not known what it was.
18 Involutæ sunt semitæ gressuum eorum; ambulabunt in vacuum, et peribunt.
Thus I also have been deserted of all; and I am ruined, and become an outcast.
19 Considerate semitas Thema, itinera Saba, et expectate paulisper.
Behold the ways of the Thaemanites, ye that mark the paths of the Sabaeans.
20 Confusi sunt, quia speravi: venerunt quoque usque ad me, et pudore cooperti sunt.
They too that trust in cities and riches shall come to shame.
21 Nunc venistis; et modo videntes plagam meam, timetis.
But ye also have come to me without pity; so that beholding my wound ye are afraid.
22 Numquid dixi: Afferte mihi, et de substantia vestra donate mihi?
What? have I made any demand of you? or do I ask for strength from you,
23 vel: Liberate me de manu hostis, et de manu robustorum eruite me?
to deliver me from enemies, or to rescue me from the hand of the mighty ones?
24 Docete me, et ego tacebo: et si quid forte ignoravi, instruite me.
Teach ye me, and I will be silent: if in anything I have erred, tell me.
25 Quare detraxistis sermonibus veritatis, cum e vobis nullus sit qui possit arguere me?
But as it seems, the words of a true man are vain, because I do not ask strength of you.
26 Ad increpandum tantum eloquia concinnatis, et in ventum verba profertis.
Neither will your reproof cause me to cease my words, for neither will I endure the sound of your speech.
27 Super pupillum irruitis, et subvertere nitimini amicum vestrum.
Even because ye attack the fatherless, and insult your friend.
28 Verumtamen quod cœpistis explete: præbete aurem, et videte an mentiar.
But now, having looked upon your countenances, I will not lie.
29 Respondete, obsecro, absque contentione; et loquentes id quod justum est, judicate.
Sit down now, and let there not be unrighteousness; and unite again with the just.
30 Et non invenietis in lingua mea iniquitatem, nec in faucibus meis stultitia personabit.]
For there is no injustice in my tongue; and does not my throat meditate understanding?
