⁸ “Oh, that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my hope!
⁹ Oh, that God would ^(H)decide to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!
¹⁰ But it is still my comfort,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I ^(I)have not ^[c]denied the words of the Holy One.
¹¹ What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should ^[d](J)endure?
¹² Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?
¹³ Is it that my ^(K)help is not within me,
And that a ^(L)good outcome is driven away from me?

¹⁴ “For the ^(M)despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not ^(N)abandon the ^[e]fear of the Almighty.
¹⁵ My brothers have acted ^(O)deceitfully like a ^[f]wadi,
Like the torrents of ^[g]wadis which drain away,
¹⁶ Which are darkened because of ice,
And into which the snow ^[h]melts.
¹⁷ When ^(P)they dry up, they vanish;
When it is hot, they disappear from their place.
¹⁸ The ^[i]paths of their course wind along,
They go up into wasteland and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of ^(Q)Tema looked,
The travelers of ^(R)Sheba hoped for them.
²⁰ They ^(S)were put to shame, for they had trusted,
They came there and were humiliated.
²¹ Indeed, you have now become such,
^(T)You see terrors and are afraid.
²² Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
²³ Or, ‘Save me from the hand of the enemy,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

²⁴ “Teach me, and ^(U)I will be silent;
And show me how I have done wrong.
²⁵ How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?
²⁶ Do you intend to rebuke my words,
When the ^(V)words of one in despair belong to the wind?
²⁷ You would even ^(W)cast lots for ^(X)the orphans,
And ^(Y)barter over your friend.
²⁸ Now please look at me,
And see if I am ^(Z)lying to your face.
²⁹ Please turn away, let there be no injustice;
Turn away, ^(AA)my righteousness is still in it.
³⁰ Is there injustice on my tongue?
Does ^(AB)my palate not discern disasters?