² “Are all these words to go unanswered?^(B)
    Is this talker to be vindicated?^(C)
3 Will your idle talk^(D) reduce others to silence?
    Will no one rebuke you when you mock?^(E)
4 You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless^(F)
    and I am pure^(G) in your sight.’
⁵ Oh, how I wish that God would speak,^(H)
    that he would open his lips against you
⁶ and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,^(I)
    for true wisdom has two sides.
    Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.^(J)

⁷ “Can you fathom^(K) the mysteries of God?
    Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher^(L) than the heavens^(M) above—what can you do?
    They are deeper than the depths below^(N)—what can you know?^(O)
9 Their measure^(P) is longer than the earth
    and wider than the sea.^(Q)

¹⁰ “If he comes along and confines you in prison
    and convenes a court, who can oppose him?^(R)
11 Surely he recognizes deceivers;
    and when he sees evil, does he not take note?^(S)
12 But the witless can no more become wise
    than a wild donkey’s colt^(T) can be born human.^[a](U)

¹³ “Yet if you devote your heart^(V) to him
    and stretch out your hands^(W) to him,^(X)
14 if you put away^(Y) the sin that is in your hand
    and allow no evil^(Z) to dwell in your tent,^(AA)
15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;^(AB)
    you will stand firm^(AC) and without fear.^(AD)
16 You will surely forget your trouble,^(AE)
    recalling it only as waters gone by.^(AF)
17 Life will be brighter than noonday,^(AG)
    and darkness will become like morning.^(AH)
18 You will be secure, because there is hope;
    you will look about you and take your rest^(AI) in safety.^(AJ)
19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,^(AK)
    and many will court your favor.^(AL)
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,^(AM)
    and escape will elude them;^(AN)
    their hope will become a dying gasp.”^(AO)

² “Doubtless you are the only people who matter,
    and wisdom will die with you!^(AP)
3 But I have a mind as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Who does not know all these things?^(AQ)

⁴ “I have become a laughingstock^(AR) to my friends,^(AS)
    though I called on God and he answered^(AT)—
    a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!^(AU)
5 Those who are at ease have contempt^(AV) for misfortune
    as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.^(AW)
6 The tents of marauders are undisturbed,^(AX)
    and those who provoke God are secure^(AY)—
    those God has in his hand.^[b]

⁷ “But ask the animals, and they will teach you,^(AZ)
    or the birds in the sky,^(BA) and they will tell you;^(BB)
8 or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
    or let the fish in the sea inform you.
⁹ Which of all these does not know^(BC)
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?^(BD)
10 In his hand is the life^(BE) of every creature
    and the breath of all mankind.^(BF)
11 Does not the ear test words
    as the tongue tastes food?^(BG)
12 Is not wisdom found among the aged?^(BH)
    Does not long life bring understanding?^(BI)

¹³ “To God belong wisdom^(BJ) and power;^(BK)
    counsel and understanding are his.^(BL)
14 What he tears down^(BM) cannot be rebuilt;^(BN)
    those he imprisons cannot be released.^(BO)
15 If he holds back the waters,^(BP) there is drought;^(BQ)
    if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.^(BR)
16 To him belong strength and insight;^(BS)
    both deceived and deceiver are his.^(BT)
17 He leads rulers away stripped^(BU)
    and makes fools of judges.^(BV)
18 He takes off the shackles^(BW) put on by kings
    and ties a loincloth^[c] around their waist.^(BX)
19 He leads priests away stripped^(BY)
    and overthrows officials long established.^(BZ)
20 He silences the lips of trusted advisers
    and takes away the discernment of elders.^(CA)
21 He pours contempt on nobles^(CB)
    and disarms the mighty.^(CC)
22 He reveals the deep things of darkness^(CD)
    and brings utter darkness^(CE) into the light.^(CF)
23 He makes nations great, and destroys them;^(CG)
    he enlarges nations,^(CH) and disperses them.^(CI)
24 He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;^(CJ)
    he makes them wander in a trackless waste.^(CK)
25 They grope in darkness with no light;^(CL)
    he makes them stagger like drunkards.^(CM)

13 “My eyes have seen all this,^(CN)
    my ears have heard and understood it.
² What you know, I also know;
    I am not inferior to you.^(CO)
3 But I desire to speak to the Almighty^(CP)
    and to argue my case with God.^(CQ)
4 You, however, smear me with lies;^(CR)
    you are worthless physicians,^(CS) all of you!^(CT)
5 If only you would be altogether silent!^(CU)
    For you, that would be wisdom.^(CV)
6 Hear now my argument;
    listen to the pleas of my lips.^(CW)
7 Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf?
    Will you speak deceitfully for him?^(CX)
8 Will you show him partiality?^(CY)
    Will you argue the case for God?
⁹ Would it turn out well if he examined you?^(CZ)
    Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal?^(DA)
10 He would surely call you to account
    if you secretly showed partiality.^(DB)
11 Would not his splendor^(DC) terrify you?
    Would not the dread of him fall on you?^(DD)
12 Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
    your defenses are defenses of clay.^(DE)

¹³ “Keep silent^(DF) and let me speak;^(DG)
    then let come to me what may.^(DH)
14 Why do I put myself in jeopardy
    and take my life in my hands?^(DI)
15 Though he slay me, yet will I hope^(DJ) in him;^(DK)
    I will surely^[d] defend my ways to his face.^(DL)
16 Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,^(DM)
    for no godless^(DN) person would dare come before him!^(DO)
17 Listen carefully to what I say;^(DP)
    let my words ring in your ears.
¹⁸ Now that I have prepared my case,^(DQ)
    I know I will be vindicated.^(DR)
19 Can anyone bring charges against me?^(DS)
    If so, I will be silent^(DT) and die.^(DU)

²⁰ “Only grant me these two things, God,
    and then I will not hide from you:
²¹ Withdraw your hand^(DV) far from me,
    and stop frightening me with your terrors.^(DW)
22 Then summon me and I will answer,^(DX)
    or let me speak, and you reply to me.^(DY)
23 How many wrongs and sins have I committed?^(DZ)
    Show me my offense and my sin.^(EA)
24 Why do you hide your face^(EB)
    and consider me your enemy?^(EC)
25 Will you torment^(ED) a windblown leaf?^(EE)
    Will you chase^(EF) after dry chaff?^(EG)
26 For you write down bitter things against me
    and make me reap the sins of my youth.^(EH)
27 You fasten my feet in shackles;^(EI)
    you keep close watch on all my paths^(EJ)
    by putting marks on the soles of my feet.

²⁸ “So man wastes away like something rotten,
    like a garment^(EK) eaten by moths.^(EL)

14 “Mortals, born of woman,^(EM)
    are of few days^(EN) and full of trouble.^(EO)
2 They spring up like flowers^(EP) and wither away;^(EQ)
    like fleeting shadows,^(ER) they do not endure.^(ES)
3 Do you fix your eye on them?^(ET)
    Will you bring them^[e] before you for judgment?^(EU)
4 Who can bring what is pure^(EV) from the impure?^(EW)
    No one!^(EX)
5 A person’s days are determined;^(EY)
    you have decreed the number of his months^(EZ)
    and have set limits he cannot exceed.^(FA)
6 So look away from him and let him alone,^(FB)
    till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.^(FC)

⁷ “At least there is hope for a tree:^(FD)
    If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
    and its new shoots^(FE) will not fail.^(FF)
8 Its roots may grow old in the ground
    and its stump^(FG) die in the soil,
⁹ yet at the scent of water^(FH) it will bud
    and put forth shoots like a plant.^(FI)
10 But a man dies and is laid low;^(FJ)
    he breathes his last and is no more.^(FK)
11 As the water of a lake dries up
    or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,^(FL)
12 so he lies down and does not rise;^(FM)
    till the heavens are no more,^(FN) people will not awake
    or be roused from their sleep.^(FO)

¹³ “If only you would hide me in the grave^(FP)
    and conceal me till your anger has passed!^(FQ)
If only you would set me a time
    and then remember^(FR) me!^(FS)
14 If someone dies, will they live again?
    All the days of my hard service^(FT)
    I will wait for my renewal^[f](FU) to come.
¹⁵ You will call and I will answer you;^(FV)
    you will long for the creature your hands have made.^(FW)
16 Surely then you will count my steps^(FX)
    but not keep track of my sin.^(FY)
17 My offenses will be sealed^(FZ) up in a bag;^(GA)
    you will cover over my sin.^(GB)

¹⁸ “But as a mountain erodes and crumbles^(GC)
    and as a rock is moved from its place,^(GD)
19 as water wears away stones
    and torrents^(GE) wash away the soil,^(GF)
    so you destroy a person’s hope.^(GG)
20 You overpower them once for all, and they are gone;^(GH)
    you change their countenance and send them away.^(GI)
21 If their children are honored, they do not know it;
    if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it.^(GJ)
22 They feel but the pain of their own bodies^(GK)
    and mourn only for themselves.^(GL)”

² “Would a wise person answer with empty notions
    or fill their belly with the hot east wind?^(GN)
3 Would they argue with useless words,
    with speeches that have no value?^(GO)
4 But you even undermine piety
    and hinder devotion to God.^(GP)
5 Your sin^(GQ) prompts your mouth;^(GR)
    you adopt the tongue of the crafty.^(GS)
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
    your own lips testify against you.^(GT)

⁷ “Are you the first man ever born?^(GU)
    Were you brought forth before the hills?^(GV)
8 Do you listen in on God’s council?^(GW)
    Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?^(GX)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
    What insights do you have that we do not have?^(GY)
10 The gray-haired and the aged^(GZ) are on our side,
    men even older than your father.^(HA)
11 Are God’s consolations^(HB) not enough for you,
    words^(HC) spoken gently to you?^(HD)
12 Why has your heart^(HE) carried you away,
    and why do your eyes flash,
¹³ so that you vent your rage^(HF) against God
    and pour out such words^(HG) from your mouth?^(HH)

¹⁴ “What are mortals, that they could be pure,
    or those born of woman,^(HI) that they could be righteous?^(HJ)
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,^(HK)
    if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,^(HL)
16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,^(HM)
    who drink up evil^(HN) like water!^(HO)

¹⁷ “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
    let me tell you what I have seen,^(HP)
18 what the wise have declared,
    hiding nothing received from their ancestors^(HQ)
19 (to whom alone the land^(HR) was given
    when no foreigners moved among them):
²⁰ All his days the wicked man suffers torment,^(HS)
    the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.^(HT)
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;^(HU)
    when all seems well, marauders attack him.^(HV)
22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;^(HW)
    he is marked for the sword.^(HX)
23 He wanders about^(HY) for food like a vulture;^(HZ)
    he knows the day of darkness^(IA) is at hand.^(IB)
24 Distress and anguish^(IC) fill him with terror;^(ID)
    troubles overwhelm him, like a king^(IE) poised to attack,
²⁵ because he shakes his fist^(IF) at God
    and vaunts himself against the Almighty,^(IG)
26 defiantly charging against him
    with a thick, strong shield.^(IH)

²⁷ “Though his face is covered with fat
    and his waist bulges with flesh,^(II)
28 he will inhabit ruined towns
    and houses where no one lives,^(IJ)
    houses crumbling to rubble.^(IK)
29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,^(IL)
    nor will his possessions spread over the land.^(IM)
30 He will not escape the darkness;^(IN)
    a flame^(IO) will wither his shoots,^(IP)
    and the breath of God’s mouth^(IQ) will carry him away.^(IR)
31 Let him not deceive^(IS) himself by trusting what is worthless,^(IT)
    for he will get nothing in return.^(IU)
32 Before his time^(IV) he will wither,^(IW)
    and his branches will not flourish.^(IX)
33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,^(IY)
    like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.^(IZ)
34 For the company of the godless^(JA) will be barren,
    and fire will consume^(JB) the tents of those who love bribes.^(JC)
35 They conceive trouble^(JD) and give birth to evil;^(JE)
    their womb fashions deceit.”