² “How you have helped the powerless!^(A)
    How you have saved the arm that is feeble!^(B)
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
    And what great insight^(C) you have displayed!
⁴ Who has helped you utter these words?
    And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?^(D)

⁵ “The dead are in deep anguish,^(E)
    those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
⁶ The realm of the dead^(F) is naked before God;
    Destruction^[a](G) lies uncovered.^(H)
7 He spreads out the northern skies^(I) over empty space;
    he suspends the earth over nothing.^(J)
8 He wraps up the waters^(K) in his clouds,^(L)
    yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
⁹ He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading his clouds^(M) over it.
¹⁰ He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters^(N)
    for a boundary between light and darkness.^(O)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,^(P)
    aghast at his rebuke.
¹² By his power he churned up the sea;^(Q)
    by his wisdom^(R) he cut Rahab^(S) to pieces.
¹³ By his breath the skies^(T) became fair;
    his hand pierced the gliding serpent.^(U)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
    how faint the whisper^(V) we hear of him!^(W)
    Who then can understand the thunder of his power?”^(X)

² “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,^(Z)
    the Almighty,^(AA) who has made my life bitter,^(AB)
3 as long as I have life within me,
    the breath of God^(AC) in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not say anything wicked,
    and my tongue will not utter lies.^(AD)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
    till I die, I will not deny my integrity.^(AE)
6 I will maintain my innocence^(AF) and never let go of it;
    my conscience^(AG) will not reproach me as long as I live.^(AH)

⁷ “May my enemy be like the wicked,^(AI)
    my adversary^(AJ) like the unjust!
⁸ For what hope have the godless^(AK) when they are cut off,
    when God takes away their life?^(AL)
9 Does God listen to their cry
    when distress comes upon them?^(AM)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?^(AN)
    Will they call on God at all times?

¹¹ “I will teach you about the power of God;
    the ways^(AO) of the Almighty I will not conceal.^(AP)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
    Why then this meaningless talk?

¹³ “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
    the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:^(AQ)
14 However many his children,^(AR) their fate is the sword;^(AS)
    his offspring will never have enough to eat.^(AT)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
    and their widows will not weep for them.^(AU)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust^(AV)
    and clothes like piles of clay,^(AW)
17 what he lays up^(AX) the righteous will wear,^(AY)
    and the innocent will divide his silver.^(AZ)
18 The house^(BA) he builds is like a moth’s cocoon,^(BB)
    like a hut^(BC) made by a watchman.
¹⁹ He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;^(BD)
    when he opens his eyes, all is gone.^(BE)
20 Terrors^(BF) overtake him like a flood;^(BG)
    a tempest snatches him away in the night.^(BH)
21 The east wind^(BI) carries him off, and he is gone;^(BJ)
    it sweeps him out of his place.^(BK)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy^(BL)
    as he flees headlong^(BM) from its power.^(BN)
23 It claps its hands^(BO) in derision
    and hisses him out of his place.”^(BP)

¹² But where can wisdom be found?^(CH)
    Where does understanding dwell?^(CI)
13 No mortal comprehends its worth;^(CJ)
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.^(CK)
14 The deep^(CL) says, “It is not in me”;
    the sea^(CM) says, “It is not with me.”
¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold,
    nor can its price be weighed out in silver.^(CN)
16 It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir,^(CO)
    with precious onyx or lapis lazuli.^(CP)
17 Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it,^(CQ)
    nor can it be had for jewels of gold.^(CR)
18 Coral^(CS) and jasper^(CT) are not worthy of mention;
    the price of wisdom is beyond rubies.^(CU)
19 The topaz^(CV) of Cush^(CW) cannot compare with it;
    it cannot be bought with pure gold.^(CX)

²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?^(CY)
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.^(CZ)
22 Destruction^[c](DA) and Death^(DB) say,
    “Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
²³ God understands the way to it
    and he alone^(DC) knows where it dwells,^(DD)
24 for he views the ends of the earth^(DE)
    and sees everything under the heavens.^(DF)
25 When he established the force of the wind
    and measured out the waters,^(DG)
26 when he made a decree for the rain^(DH)
    and a path for the thunderstorm,^(DI)
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
    he confirmed it and tested it.^(DJ)
28 And he said to the human race,
    “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil^(DK) is understanding.”^(DL)

² “How I long for the months gone by,^(DN)
    for the days when God watched over me,^(DO)
3 when his lamp shone on my head
    and by his light I walked through darkness!^(DP)
4 Oh, for the days when I was in my prime,
    when God’s intimate friendship^(DQ) blessed my house,^(DR)
5 when the Almighty was still with me
    and my children^(DS) were around me,^(DT)
6 when my path was drenched with cream^(DU)
    and the rock^(DV) poured out for me streams of olive oil.^(DW)

⁷ “When I went to the gate^(DX) of the city
    and took my seat in the public square,
⁸ the young men saw me and stepped aside^(DY)
    and the old men rose to their feet;^(DZ)
9 the chief men refrained from speaking^(EA)
    and covered their mouths with their hands;^(EB)
10 the voices of the nobles were hushed,^(EC)
    and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.^(ED)
11 Whoever heard me spoke well of me,
    and those who saw me commended me,^(EE)
12 because I rescued the poor^(EF) who cried for help,
    and the fatherless^(EG) who had none to assist them.^(EH)
13 The one who was dying blessed me;^(EI)
    I made the widow’s^(EJ) heart sing.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness^(EK) as my clothing;
    justice was my robe and my turban.^(EL)
15 I was eyes^(EM) to the blind
    and feet to the lame.^(EN)
16 I was a father to the needy;^(EO)
    I took up the case^(EP) of the stranger.^(EQ)
17 I broke the fangs of the wicked
    and snatched the victims^(ER) from their teeth.^(ES)

¹⁸ “I thought, ‘I will die in my own house,
    my days as numerous as the grains of sand.^(ET)
19 My roots will reach to the water,^(EU)
    and the dew will lie all night on my branches.^(EV)
20 My glory will not fade;^(EW)
    the bow^(EX) will be ever new in my hand.’^(EY)

²¹ “People listened to me expectantly,
    waiting in silence for my counsel.^(EZ)
22 After I had spoken, they spoke no more;^(FA)
    my words fell gently on their ears.^(FB)
23 They waited for me as for showers
    and drank in my words as the spring rain.^(FC)
24 When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it;
    the light of my face^(FD) was precious to them.^[d](FE)
25 I chose the way for them and sat as their chief;^(FF)
    I dwelt as a king^(FG) among his troops;
    I was like one who comforts mourners.^(FH)

² The one whose walk is blameless,^(D)
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth^(E) from their heart;
³ whose tongue utters no slander,^(F)
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
⁴ who despises a vile person
    but honors^(G) those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath^(H) even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
⁵ who lends money to the poor without interest;^(I)
    who does not accept a bribe^(J) against the innocent.

Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.^(K)