Job 6:1-7

Job 6:1-7

[1] But Job  answered  and said,  [2] Oh that  my grief  were throughly  laid  in the balances  together!  [3] For now it would be heavier  than the sand  of the sea:  therefore my words  are swallowed up.  [4] For the arrows  of the Almighty  are within  me, the poison  whereof drinketh up  my spirit:  the terrors  of God  do set themselves in array  [5] Doth the wild ass  bray  when he hath grass?  or loweth  the ox  over his fodder?  [6] Can that which is unsavoury  be eaten  without salt?  or is there  any taste  in the white  of an egg?  [7] The things that my soul  refused  to touch  are as my sorrowful  meat. 

What does Job 6:1-7 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Job said he complained because of his great irritation. His calamities were as heavy as wet sand ( Job 6:2-3). The Hebrew word translated "iniquity" in Job 6:2 occurs only here in the Old Testament. We should probably translate it "calamity" or "misfortune." Job implied that his words of complaint were nothing in comparison to his suffering. His situation was harder for him to bear because he believed his misfortune came from God.
"The God he had known and the God he now experiences seemed irreconcilable." [1]
Job refused to accept his trials without something to make them bearable, namely, complaining. Similarly a person refuses tasteless food without salt ( Job 6:6-7).