-
That day—may it turn to darkness; may God above not care about it; may no light shine on it.
-
with kings and rulers of the earth, who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,
-
The small and the great are there, and the slaves are freed from their owners.
-
Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in?
-
Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands.
-
At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more.
-
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?
-
If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error,
-
I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
-
His children are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
-
The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from among thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
-
Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
-
“But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.
-
Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.
-
He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
-
“Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
-
For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.
-
You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
-
The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshaled against me.
-
“Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for,
-
that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut off my life!
-
Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again.
-
He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more.
-
“What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention,
-
that you examine them every morning and test them every moment?
