⁵ Don’t I have a right to complain?
    Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass,
    and oxen bellow when they have no food?

⁴ Your children must have sinned against him,
    so their punishment was well deserved.

¹⁴ “One should be kind to a fainting friend,
    but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.^[a]

²¹ You, too, have given no help.
    You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.

² “Shouldn’t someone answer this torrent of words?
    Is a person proved innocent just by a lot of talking?
³ Should I remain silent while you babble on?
    When you mock God, shouldn’t someone make you ashamed?

² “How long will you torture me?
    How long will you try to crush me with your words?
³ You have already insulted me ten times.
    You should be ashamed of treating me so badly.

¹³ “My relatives stay far away,
    and my friends have turned against me.
¹⁴ My family is gone,
    and my close friends have forgotten me.
¹⁵ My servants and maids consider me a stranger.
    I am like a foreigner to them.
¹⁶ When I call my servant, he doesn’t come;
    I have to plead with him!
¹⁷ My breath is repulsive to my wife.
    I am rejected by my own family.
¹⁸ Even young children despise me.
    When I stand to speak, they turn their backs on me.
¹⁹ My close friends detest me.
    Those I loved have turned against me.
²⁰ I have been reduced to skin and bones
    and have escaped death by the skin of my teeth.

³⁴ “How can your empty clichés comfort me?
    All your explanations are lies!”