2  “Oh that my vexation were weighed,

and all my calamity laid in the balances!

3  For then it would be heavier than ^zthe sand of the sea;

therefore my words have been rash.

4  For ^athe arrows of the Almighty are in me;

my spirit drinks their poison;

the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

5  Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,

or the ox low over his fodder?

6  Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,

or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?¹

7  My appetite refuses to touch them;

they are as food that is loathsome to me.²

8  “Oh that I might have my request,

and that God would fulfill my hope,

9  that it would ^bplease God to crush me,

that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

10  This would be my comfort;

I would even exult³ in pain ^cunsparing,

for I have not denied the words of ^dthe Holy One.

11  What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is my end, that I should be patient?

12  Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?

13  Have I any help in me,

when resource is driven from me?

14  “He who ^ewithholds⁴ kindness from a ^ffriend

forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

15  My ^gbrothers are ^htreacherous as a torrent-bed,

as torrential ⁱstreams that pass away,

16  which are dark with ice,

and where the snow hides itself.

17  When they melt, they disappear;

when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

18  The caravans turn aside from their course;

they go up into ^jthe waste and perish.

19  The caravans of ^kTema look,

the travelers of ^lSheba hope.

20  They are ^mashamed because they were confident;

they come there and are ^mdisappointed.

21  For you have now become nothing;

you see my calamity and are afraid.

22  Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?

Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?

23  Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary’s hand’?

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of ⁿthe ruthless’?

24  “Teach me, and I will be silent;

make me understand how I have gone astray.

25  How forceful are upright words!

But what does reproof from you reprove?

26  Do you think that you can reprove words,

when the speech of a despairing man is ^owind?

27  You would even ^pcast lots over the fatherless,

and bargain over your friend.

28  “But now, be pleased to look at me,

for I will not lie to your face.

29  ^qPlease turn; let no injustice be done.

Turn now; my vindication is at stake.

30  Is there any injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?

1  “Has not man ^ra hard service on earth,

and are not his ^sdays like the days of a hired hand?

2  Like a slave who longs for ^tthe shadow,

and like ^ua hired hand who looks for his ^vwages,

3  so I am allotted months of ^wemptiness,

^xand nights of misery are apportioned to me.

4  ^yWhen I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?’

But the night is long,

and I toss and turn till the dawn.

5  My flesh is clothed with ^zworms and ^adirt;

my skin hardens, then ^bbreaks out afresh.

6  My days are ^cswifter than ^da weaver’s shuttle

and come to their end without hope.

7  “Remember that my life is a ^ebreath;

my eye will never again see good.

8  ^fThe eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;

while your eyes are on me, ^gI shall be gone.

9  As ^hthe cloud fades and vanishes,

so he who ⁱgoes down to Sheol does not come up;

10  he ^jreturns no more to his house,

nor does his ^kplace know him anymore.

11  “Therefore I will not ^lrestrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will ^mcomplain in ⁿthe bitterness of my soul.

12  Am I the sea, or ^oa sea monster,

that you set a guard over me?

13  ^pWhen I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,

my couch will ease my complaint,’

14  then you scare me with dreams

and terrify me with visions,

15  so that I would choose strangling

and death rather than my ^qbones.

16  I ^rloathe my life; I would not live forever.

^sLeave me alone, for my days are ^ta breath.

17  ^uWhat is man, that you make so much of him,

and that you set your heart on him,

18  ^vvisit him every morning

and ^wtest him every moment?

19  How long will you not ^xlook away from me,

nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?

20  If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?

Why have you made me ^yyour mark?

Why have I become a burden to you?

21  Why do you not pardon my transgression

and take away my iniquity?

For now I shall lie in ^zthe earth;

you will ^aseek me, ^bbut I shall not be.”

2  “How long will you say these things,

and the words of your mouth be a ^dgreat wind?

3  ^eDoes God pervert justice?

Or does the Almighty pervert the right?

4  If your ^fchildren have sinned against him,

he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.

5  If you will seek God

and ^gplead with the Almighty for mercy,

6  if you are pure and upright,

surely then he will ^hrouse himself for you

and ⁱrestore your rightful habitation.

7  And though your beginning was small,

^jyour latter days will be very great.

8  “For ^kinquire, please, of bygone ages,

and consider what ^lthe fathers have searched out.

9  For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,

for our days on earth are ^ma shadow.

10  Will they not teach you and tell you

and utter words out of their understanding?

11  “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?

Can reeds flourish where there is no water?

12  While yet in flower and not cut down,

they ⁿwither before any other plant.

13  Such are the paths of all who ^oforget God;

^pthe hope of ^qthe godless shall perish.

14  His confidence is severed,

and his trust is ^ra spider’s web.⁵

15  He leans against his ^shouse, but it does not stand;

he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.

16  He is a lush plant before the sun,

and his ^tshoots spread over his garden.

17  His roots entwine the stone heap;

he looks upon a house of stones.

18  If he is destroyed from his ^uplace,

then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never ^vseen you.’

19  Behold, this is the joy of his way,

and out of ^wthe soil others will spring.

20  “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,

nor take the hand of evildoers.

21  He will yet ^xfill your mouth with laughter,

and your lips with shouting.

22  Those who hate you will be ^yclothed with shame,

and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

2  “Truly I know that it is so:

But how can a man be ^zin the right before God?

3  If one wished to ^acontend with him,

one could not answer him once in a thousand times.

4  He is ^bwise in heart and mighty in strength—

who has ^chardened himself against him, and succeeded?—

5  he who removes mountains, and they know it not,

when he overturns them in his anger,

6  who ^dshakes the earth out of its place,

and ^eits pillars tremble;

7  who commands the sun, and it does not rise;

who seals up the stars;

8  who alone ^fstretched out the heavens

and trampled the waves of the sea;

9  who ^gmade ^hthe Bear and ⁱOrion,

the Pleiades ^jand the chambers of the south;

10  who does ^kgreat things beyond searching out,

and marvelous things beyond number.

11  Behold, he passes by me, and I ^lsee him not;

he moves on, but I do not perceive him.

12  Behold, he snatches away; ^mwho can turn him back?

ⁿWho will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

13  “God will not turn back his anger;

beneath him bowed the helpers of ^oRahab.

14  ^pHow then can I ^qanswer him,

choosing my words with him?

15  ^rThough I am in the right, I cannot answer him;

I must ^sappeal for mercy to my accuser.⁶

16  If I summoned him and he answered me,

I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.

17  For he crushes me with a tempest

and multiplies my wounds ^twithout cause;

18  he will not let me get my breath,

but fills me with bitterness.

19  If it is a contest of ^ustrength, behold, he is mighty!

If it is a matter of justice, who can ^vsummon him?⁷

20  Though I am in the right, ^wmy own mouth would condemn me;

though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.

21  I am ^xblameless; I regard not myself;

I ^yloathe my life.

22  It is all one; therefore I say,

‘He ^zdestroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

23  When ^adisaster brings sudden death,

he mocks at the calamity⁸ of the innocent.

24  ^bThe earth is given into the hand of the wicked;

he ^ccovers the faces of its judges—

^dif it is not he, who then is it?

25  “My ^edays are swifter than ^fa runner;

they flee away; they see no good.

26  They go by like ^gskiffs of reed,

like ^han eagle swooping on the prey.

27  If I say, ⁱ‘I will forget my complaint,

I will put off my sad face, and ^jbe of good cheer,’

28  I become ^kafraid of all my suffering,

for I know you will not ^lhold me innocent.

29  I shall be ^mcondemned;

why then do I labor in vain?

30  If I wash myself with snow

and ⁿcleanse my hands with lye,

31  yet you will plunge me into a pit,

and my own clothes will ^oabhor me.

32  For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,

that we should ^pcome to trial together.

33  ^qThere is no⁹ arbiter between us,

who might lay his hand on us both.

34  ^rLet him take his ^srod away from me,

and let ^tnot dread of him terrify me.

35  Then I would speak without fear of him,

for I am not so in myself.

1  “I ^uloathe my life;

I will give free utterance to my ^vcomplaint;

I will speak in ^wthe bitterness of my soul.

2  I will say to God, Do not ^xcondemn me;

let me know why you ^ycontend against me.

3  ^zDoes it seem good to you to oppress,

to despise ^athe work of your hands

^band favor the designs of the wicked?

4  Have you ^ceyes of flesh?

^dDo you see as man sees?

5  Are your days as the days of man,

or your ^eyears as a man’s years,

6  that you ^fseek out my iniquity

and search for my sin,

7  although you ^gknow that I am not guilty,

and there is ^hnone to deliver out of your hand?

8  ⁱYour hands fashioned and made me,

and now you have destroyed me altogether.

9  Remember that you have made me like ^jclay;

and will you return me to the ^kdust?

10  Did you not pour me out like milk

and curdle me like cheese?

11  You clothed me with skin and flesh,

and knit me together with bones and sinews.

12  You have granted me life and steadfast love,

and your care has preserved my spirit.

13  Yet these things you hid in your heart;

I know that ^lthis was your purpose.

14  If I sin, you ^mwatch me

and do not ⁿacquit me of my iniquity.

15  ^oIf I am guilty, woe to me!

If I am ^pin the right, I cannot lift up my head,

for I am filled with disgrace

and ^qlook on my affliction.

16  And were my head lifted up,¹⁰ you would hunt me like ^ra lion

and again work ^swonders against me.

17  You renew your ^twitnesses against me

and increase your vexation toward me;

you ^ubring fresh troops against me.

18  ^v“Why did you bring me out from the womb?

Would that I had died before any eye had seen me

19  ^wand were as though I had not been,

carried from the womb to the grave.

20  ^xAre not my days few?

^yThen cease, and leave me alone, ^zthat I may find a little cheer

21  before I go—and ^aI shall not return—

to the land of ^bdarkness and ^cdeep shadow,

22  the land of gloom like thick darkness,

like deep shadow without any order,

where light is as thick darkness.”

2  “Should ^ea multitude of words go unanswered,

and a man full of talk be judged right?

3  Should your babble silence men,

and when you mock, shall no one shame you?

4  For ^fyou say, ‘My ^gdoctrine is pure,

and I am clean in God’s¹¹ eyes.’

5  But oh, that God would speak

and open his lips to you,

6  and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!

For he is manifold in ^hunderstanding.¹²

Know then that God ⁱexacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

7  ^j“Can you find out the deep things of God?

Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?

8  It is ^khigher than heaven¹³—what can you do?

Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

9  Its measure is longer than the earth

and broader than the sea.

10  If he ^lpasses through and ^mimprisons

and summons the court, who can ⁿturn him back?

11  For he knows ^oworthless men;

when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?

12  But a stupid man will get understanding

when ^pa wild donkey’s colt is ^qborn a man!

13  “If you ^rprepare your heart,

you will ^sstretch out your hands toward him.

14  If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,

and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

15  Surely then you will ^tlift up your face without ^ublemish;

you will be secure and will not fear.

16  You will ^vforget your misery;

you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

17  And your life will be ^wbrighter than the noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.

18  And you will feel secure, because there is hope;

you will look around and ^xtake your rest in security.

19  You will ^xlie down, and none will make you afraid;

many will ^ycourt your favor.

20  But ^zthe eyes of the wicked will fail;

all way of escape will be lost to them,

and their hope is ^ato breathe their last.”

2  “No doubt you are the people,

and wisdom will die with you.

3  But I have ^bunderstanding as well as you;

I am not inferior to you.

Who does not know ^csuch things as these?

4  I am ^da laughingstock to my friends;

I, who ^ecalled to God and he answered me,

a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.

5  In the thought of one who is ^fat ease there is contempt for misfortune;

it is ready for those whose feet slip.

6  ^gThe tents of robbers are at peace,

and those who provoke God are secure,

who bring their god in their hand.¹⁴

7  “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;

the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;

8  or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;¹⁵

and the fish of the sea will declare to you.

9  Who among all these does not know

that ^hthe hand of the Lord has done this?

10  In ⁱhis hand is the life of every living thing

and the breath of all mankind.

11  Does not ^jthe ear test words

as the palate tastes food?

12  Wisdom is with ^kthe aged,

and understanding in length of days.

13  ^l“With God¹⁶ are wisdom and might;

he has counsel and understanding.

14  If he tears down, none can rebuild;

if he ^mshuts a man in, none can open.

15  If he ⁿwithholds the waters, they dry up;

if he ^osends them out, they overwhelm the land.

16  With him are strength and ^psound wisdom;

the deceived and the deceiver are his.

17  He leads ^qcounselors away stripped,

and ^rjudges he makes fools.

18  He ^slooses the bonds of kings

and binds a waistcloth on their hips.

19  He leads priests away stripped

and overthrows the mighty.

20  He deprives of speech those who are trusted

^tand takes away the discernment of the elders.

21  He ^upours contempt on princes

and loosens the belt of the strong.

22  He ^vuncovers the deeps out of darkness

and brings ^wdeep darkness to light.

23  He ^xmakes nations great, and he destroys them;

he enlarges nations, and ^yleads them away.

24  He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth

and ^zmakes them wander in a trackless waste.

25  They ^agrope in the dark without light,

and he makes them ^bstagger like a drunken man.

1  “Behold, my eye has seen all this,

my ear has heard and understood it.

2  ^cWhat you know, I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

3  ^dBut I would speak to the Almighty,

and I desire to ^eargue my case with God.

4  As for you, ^fyou whitewash with lies;

^gworthless physicians are you all.

5  Oh that you would ^hkeep silent,

and it would be your wisdom!

6  Hear now my argument

and listen to the pleadings of my lips.

7  Will you ⁱspeak falsely for God

and speak ⁱdeceitfully for him?

8  Will you show partiality toward him?

Will you ^jplead the case for God?

9  Will it be well with you when he ^ksearches you out?

Or ^lcan you deceive him, as one deceives a man?

10  He will surely rebuke you

if in secret you show partiality.

11  Will not his ^mmajesty terrify you,

and the dread of him fall upon you?

12  Your maxims are proverbs of ⁿashes;

your defenses are defenses of clay.

13  “Let me have silence, and I will speak,

and let come on me what may.

14  Why should I take my flesh in my teeth

and ^oput my life in my hand?

15  ^pThough he slay me, I will ^qhope in him;¹⁷

yet I will ^rargue my ways to his face.

16  This will be my salvation,

that the godless shall not come before him.

17  ^sKeep listening to my words,

and let my declaration be in your ears.

18  Behold, I have ^tprepared my case;

I know that I shall be in the right.

19  ^uWho is there who will contend with me?

For then I would be silent and die.

20  Only grant me two things,

then I will not ^vhide myself from your face:

21  ^wwithdraw your hand far from me,

and let not ^xdread of you terrify me.

22  ^yThen call, and I will answer;

or let me speak, and you reply to me.

23  How many are my iniquities and my sins?

^zMake me know my transgression and my sin.

24  Why ^ado you hide your face

and ^bcount me as your enemy?

25  Will you frighten ^ca driven leaf

and pursue dry ^dchaff?

26  For you ^ewrite bitter things against me

and make me inherit ^fthe iniquities of my youth.

27  You put my feet in ^gthe stocks

and ^hwatch all my paths;

you set a limit for¹⁸ the soles of my feet.

28  Man¹⁹ wastes away like ⁱa rotten thing,