Bible in 90 Days

²² Do not say, “I will pay back evil!”
Wait for Adonai, so He may deliver You.

²³ Unbalanced weights are detestable to Adonai,
and dishonest scales are wicked.

²⁴ A man’s steps are directed by Adonai.
How then can anyone understand his own way?

²⁵ It is a trap for one to say rashly, “It is holy!”
and only afterward to consider his vows.

²⁶ A wise king winnows out the wicked.
He turns a threshing wheel over them.
²⁷ The spirit of man is the lamp of Adonai,
searching all his inmost being.

²⁸ Lovingkindness and truth preserve the king,
but his throne is upheld by lovingkindness.

²⁹ The glory of young men is their strength,
and the splendor of old men is gray hair.

³⁰ Blows that wound scour away evil,
and beatings purge the innermost being.

⁵ Plans of the diligent surely lead to gain,
but all who are hasty come only to loss.
⁶ Getting treasures by a lying tongue
is like a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.

¹⁰ A wicked soul craves evil—
his neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.
¹¹ When a mocker is punished, the naïve become wise.
When a wise person is instructed, he gains knowledge.

¹² The righteous one considers the house of the wicked,
throwing the wicked down to their ruin.

¹³ Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
will also cry out but not be answered.

¹⁴ A gift in secret soothes anger,
and a bribe given secretly, fierce rage.

¹⁵ Doing justice brings joy to the righteous,
and terror to those who do evil.

¹⁶ Whoever strays from the path of wisdom
ends up in the congregation of the dead.
¹⁷ Whoever loves pleasure becomes poor.
Whoever loves wine and oil will not be rich.
¹⁸ The wicked is a ransom for the righteous
and the faithless for the upright.
¹⁹ It is better to live in a desert land
than with a quarrelsome, worrisome wife.

²⁰ Precious treasure and oil are in a wise person’s dwelling,
but a foolish person devours all he has.

²¹ Whoever pursues righteousness and mercy
finds life, prosperity and honor.

²² A wise person scales the city of warriors
and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

²³ Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
keeps his soul out of troubles.

²⁴ A proud and haughty man
—Mocker is his name—
acts with overbearing pride.

²⁵ A slacker’s craving will kill him,
because his hands refuse to work.
²⁶ All day long he craves greedily,
yet the righteous one gives and does not hold back.
²⁷ The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination—
how much more when he brings it with evil intent?
²⁸ A false witness will perish,
but a man who hears will speak forever.
²⁹ A wicked man puts on a bold face,
but the upright man considers his ways.

³⁰ There is no wisdom,
there is no understanding,
there is no counsel—
against Adonai.

³¹ A horse is prepared for the day of battle,
but victory comes from Adonai.
22 A good name is to be chosen rather than great wealth,
and grace rather than silver or gold.
² Rich and poor have this in common—
Adonai is the Maker of them all.
³ A crafty person sees danger and hides,
but the naïve keep going and suffer for it.

⁴ The reward of humility and fear of Adonai
is riches, honor and life.

⁵ Thorns and snares are in the path of the perverse,
but one who guards his soul stays far from them.

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go,
when he is old he will not turn from it.

⁷ The rich rule over the poor,
the borrower is a slave to the lender.

⁸ One who sows injustice will reap trouble,
and the rod of his fury will perish.

⁹ One with a bountiful eye will be blessed,
for he shares his bread with the poor.

¹⁰ Throw out a scoffer and strife will go out,
quarreling and disgrace will cease.
¹¹ One who loves purity of heart and whose speech is gracious,
will have the king as his friend.

¹² The eyes of Adonai guard knowledge, but He undermines
the words of the faithless.

¹³ The slacker says, “There’s a lion outside!
I’ll be killed in the streets.”

¹⁴ The mouth of a seducing woman is a deep pit—
into it will fall one with whom Adonai is angry.

¹⁵ Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child,
but a rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

¹⁶ The one who oppresses the poor to increase his own gain,
and the one who gives to the rich—both end in poverty.

¹⁷ Incline your ear and listen to the words of the wise,
and apply your heart to my knowledge.
¹⁸ For it is delightful if you keep them
within you, ready on your lips.
¹⁹ So that your trust may be in Adonai,
I made them known to you this day, even you.
²⁰ Have I not written to you thirty sayings
of admonition and knowledge,
²¹ to show you true and reliable words,
that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?

²² Do not rob a poor person because he is poor,
nor crush the needy at the gate,
²³ for Adonai will plead their case,
and rob life from those who plunder them.

²⁴ Do not be friends with one given to anger
or associate with a hot-tempered person,
²⁵ lest you learn his ways,
    and entangle your soul in a snare.

²⁶ Do not be one who shakes hands
or puts up security for debts.
²⁷ If you do not have enough to pay,
why should your bed be taken from under you?

²⁸ Do not move an ancient boundary stone
which your fathers set up.

²⁹ Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand before kings.
He will not stand before obscure people.

⁴ Do not wear yourself out to get rich.
Be wise enough to restrain yourself.
⁵ When you cast your eyes on riches, it is gone;
for it surely sprouts wings and flies off into the sky like an eagle.

⁶ Do not eat the food of a stingy person,
or desire his delicacies.
⁷ For as he thinks within himself, so is he.
    “Eat and drink”, he says to you,
    but his heart is not with you.
⁸ You will vomit up the morsel you ate,
and will waste your pleasant words.
⁹ Do not speak in the ears of a fool,
for he will disdain the wisdom of your words.

¹⁰ Do not move an ancient boundary stone,
or encroach on fields of the fatherless,
¹¹ for their redeemer is strong.
He will plead their case against you.

¹² Apply your heart to discipline
and your ears to words of knowledge.
¹³ Do not withhold correction from a child.
If you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
¹⁴ Punish him with a rod,
and deliver his soul from Sheol.

¹⁷ Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be in the fear of Adonai.
¹⁸ For surely there is a future,
and your hope will never be cut off.
¹⁹ Listen, my son, and be wise,
and guide your heart in the right way.

²⁰ Do not join those drinking too much wine
or gorging on meat,
²¹ for both drunkards and gluttons will be impoverished—
grogginess will clothe them with rags.

²² Listen to your father who begot you
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
²³ Acquire truth and do not sell it,
acquire wisdom, instruction and understanding.
²⁴ The father of a righteous one rejoices greatly.
Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
²⁵ Let your father and your mother be glad,
let she who bore you rejoice!
²⁶ My son, give your heart to me,
and let your eyes observe my ways.
²⁷ For a prostitute is a deep pit,
an adulterous woman is a narrow pit.
²⁸ Indeed, she lies in wait like a robber,
and increases the unfaithful among men.

¹³ Eat honey, my son, for it is good,
and honeycomb is sweet to your taste.
¹⁴ Likewise know that wisdom is sweet to your soul.
If you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

¹⁵ Do not lurk like the wicked near the dwelling of the righteous.
Do not assault his home.
¹⁶ For though the righteous one may fall seven times,
he gets up again, but the wicked stumble in adversity.
¹⁷ Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
or let your heart be glad when he stumbles,
¹⁸ or Adonai may see it as evil in His eyes,
and turn His wrath away from him.
¹⁹ Do not be upset because of evil people,
or be envious of the wicked,
²⁰ for the evil person has no future,
    and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

²¹ My son, fear Adonai and the king,^[c]
and do not associate with rebels.
²² For their destruction will arise suddenly,
and who knows the ruin both Adonai and the king can bring?
²³ These sayings are also from the wise:
Partiality in judgment is not good.
²⁴ Whoever tells the guilty,
“You are innocent,” people curse him and nations revile him.
²⁵ But for those who convict the guilty there will be delight—
good blessing will come upon them.

²⁶ An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.

²⁷ Finish your outdoor work
and get your fields ready.
After that, build your house.

²⁸ Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause,
and do not deceive with your lips.
²⁹ Do not say, “I will do to him what he has done to me;
I will pay him back for his deed!”^[d]

⁶ Do not honor yourself in the king’s presence,
and do not stand in the place of great men.
⁷ Better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”
than for you to be humiliated before a nobleman.
What your eyes have seen,
⁸ do not bring hastily to court,
or what will you do afterward,
when your neighbor puts you to shame?
⁹ Argue your case with your associate,
without betraying another’s confidence,
¹⁰ or the one who hears it will shame you,
and you will never lose your bad reputation.

¹⁵ Through patience a ruler may be persuaded,
and a soft tongue can break a bone.

²¹ If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,
and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,
²² for you will heap coals of fire on his head^[e]
and Adonai will reward you.

²³ A north wind brings rain,
and a backbiting tongue angry faces.
²⁴ Better to dwell in a corner of a roof
than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.

²⁵ Like cold water to a weary soul
is good news from a distant land.
²⁶ Like a muddied spring or a polluted well
is a righteous person who yields before the wicked.

²⁷ It is not good to eat too much honey,
or honorable to seek one’s own honor.
²⁸ Like a city whose walls are broken down
is one with no control over his temper.

²⁷ Whoever digs a pit will fall in it,
and whoever rolls a stone—it will come back upon him.

²⁸ A lying tongue hates those crushed by it,
and a flattering mouth causes ruin.

⁴ Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming,
but who can stand before jealousy?

⁵ Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
⁶ Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
but excessive the kisses of an enemy.

⁷ One who is full loathes honeycomb,
but to one who is hungry every bitter thing is sweet.

⁸ Like a bird that strays from its nest
is a man that wanders from his home.

¹¹ Be wise, my son, make my heart glad,
so I may answer anyone who taunts me.

¹² The prudent see danger and hide,
but the naïve keep going and pay the penalty.

¹³ Take a man’s garment, who puts up security for a stranger,
and hold it in pledge, as security for a seductive woman.

¹⁴ If someone blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning,
it will be taken as a curse.

¹⁵ Continual dripping on a day of steady rain
and a contentious wife are alike—
¹⁶ hiding her is like hiding the wind or grasping oil with the right hand.

¹⁷ As iron sharpens iron,
so a person sharpens the countenance of his friend.

¹⁸ Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
whoever takes care of his master will be honored.

¹⁹ As water reflects the face,
so a person’s heart reflects the person.

²⁰ Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied,
and neither are the eyes of man.
²¹ A crucible is for silver and a furnace is for gold,
but a person is proved by the praise he receives.

²² Even if you pound the fool along with the grain in a mortar with a pestle,
his foolishness would never leave him.

²³ Know well the condition of your flocks,
pay attention to your herds,
²⁴ for riches are not forever,
nor a crown from generation to generation.

²⁵ When hay is removed and grass appears,
    and grain from the hills is gathered in,
²⁶ lambs will provide you with clothing,
    and goats with the price of a field.
²⁷ There will be enough goats’ milk for food
    and food for your household,
    and sustenance for your maidservants.

³ A poor man who oppresses the weak
is like pounding rain without food.
⁴ Those who forsake Torah praise the wicked,
but those who keep Torah stir them up.
⁵ Evil men do not understand justice,
but those who seek Adonai understand it fully.
⁶ Better the poor who walks in his integrity
than the rich whose ways are crooked.
⁷ He who keeps Torah is a discerning son,
but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.
⁸ Whoever increases his wealth by exorbitant interest,
gathers it for one kinder to the poor.
⁹ One who turns his ear from hearing Torah
—even his prayer is an abomination.
¹⁰ One who leads the upright astray along an evil path
will fall into his own pit,
but the blameless will inherit good.
¹¹ A rich person is wise in his own eyes,
but a discerning poor person sees through him.
¹² When the righteous triumph there is great glory,
but when the wicked rise to power, people hide.

¹³ One who covers up his transgressions will not prosper,
but whoever confesses and forsakes them finds mercy.
¹⁴ Blessed is one who is always cautious,
but whoever hardens his heart will fall into trouble.

¹⁵ Like a roaring lion or a prowling bear
is a wicked ruler over helpless people.
¹⁶ An oppressive leader lacks judgment.
One who hates unjust gain will prolong his life.

¹⁷ A man tormented by the guilt of murder
flees to the Pit—let no one support him.
¹⁸ Whoever walks blamelessly will be safe,
but whoever is perverse in his ways will fall suddenly.

⁴ By justice a king brings stability to a land,
but one who takes bribes brings it ruin.

⁵ A man who flatters his neighbor
spreads a net for his feet.

⁶ In an evil man’s wrongdoing is a trap,
but the righteous sings and rejoices.
⁷ A righteous person considers justice for the poor.
The wicked one has no such concern.
⁸ Mockers incite a city,
but wise men turn away anger.
⁹ If a wise man argues with a foolish man,
he rants or laughs, with no resolution.
¹⁰ Bloodthirsty people hate a man of integrity
and seek the soul of the upright.
¹¹ A fool gives full vent to his temper,
but a wise man holds it back.

¹² If a ruler listens to lies,
all his servants will be wicked.

¹³ The poor man and the oppressor have this in common:
Adonai gives light to the eyes of both.

¹⁴ If a king judges the poor with truth,
his throne will always be secure.

¹⁵ A rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

¹⁶ When the wicked thrive, wrongdoing increases,
but the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷ Correct your son and he will give you rest.
He will bring delight to your soul.

¹⁸ Where there is no divine vision people cast off restraint,
but blessed is the one who keeps Torah.

¹⁹ A servant cannot be corrected by words,
for though he understands, he will not respond.
²⁰ Do you see someone hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than him.

²¹ If someone pampers his slave from childhood
in the end he will be ungrateful.

²² An angry man stirs up dissention,
and a hotheaded one commits many transgressions.

²³ A man’s pride will bring him low,
but a humble spirit will gain honor.
²⁴ An accomplice of a thief is his own enemy.
He hears the oath but says nothing.

²⁵ Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but one who trusts in Adonai will be kept safe.
²⁶ Many seek an audience with a ruler,
but from Adonai one receives justice.
²⁷ The righteous detest the unjust,
and the wicked detest the upright.

⁵ Every word of God is purified.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
⁶ Do not add to His words,
or else He will rebuke You and prove you a liar.

⁷ Two things I ask of You—
do not refuse me before I die:
⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me.
Give me neither poverty nor riches,
but feed me with my allotted bread,^[l]
9 lest I become satisfied and deny You
    and say, “Who is Adonai?”
Or lest I become poor, and steal
    and profane the Name of my God.

¹⁵ The leech has two daughters: “Give! Give!”
Three things are never satisfied, four never say, “Enough!”—
¹⁶ Sheol, a barren womb,
    land that is not satisfied with water,
    and fire that never says, “Enough!”

¹⁷ The eye that mocks a father and scorns obeying a mother—
will be pecked out by ravens of the valley
and eaten by young vultures!

¹⁸ Three things are too amazing for me,
four I do not understand:
¹⁹ the way of an eagle in the sky,
the way of a serpent upon a rock,
the way of a ship in the heart of the sea,
and the way of a man with a maiden.

²⁰ Such is the way of an adulteress:
she eats, wipes her mouth and says,
“I have done nothing wrong.”

²¹ Under three things the earth trembles,
and under four it cannot bear up:
²² under a slave when he becomes a king,
a fool when he is stuffed with food,
²³     an unloved woman when she is married,
and a handmaid when she displaces her mistress.

²⁹ Three things are stately in their stride,
four that move with stately bearing:
³⁰ a lion, mighty among beasts,
who never backs down from anything;
³¹ a strutting rooster, a male-goat,
and a king with his army around him.

³² If you have acted foolishly, exalting yourself,
or if you have planned evil,
put your hand over your mouth.
³³ For as churning milk produces butter,
and twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.

² O my son, O son of my womb,
O son of my vows,
³ do not give your vigor to women,
or your ways to what ruins kings.
⁴ It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
or for rulers to crave strong drink,
⁵ lest they drink, forget what is decreed,
and pervert justice for all the oppressed.
⁶ Give strong drink to one who is dying,
and wine to those who are bitterly distressed—
⁷ let him drink, forget his poverty,
and remember his misery no more.

⁸ Open your mouth on behalf of those unable to speak,
for the justice of all who are destitute.
⁹ Open your mouth, judge righteously,
plead the cause of the poor and needy.

³ “May the day I was born perish,
    and the night that said,
    ‘A man is conceived!’
⁴ That day—may it be darkness;
    may God above not regard it;
    may no light shine on it.
⁵ May darkness and deep gloom reclaim it;
    may a cloud settle over it;
    may whatever blackens the day terrify it.
⁶ That night—may thick darkness seize it;
    may it not be included among the days of the year,
    nor be entered among the number of months.
⁷ Indeed, may that night be barren;
    may no joyful shout enter it.
⁸ May those who curse, curse the day—
    those ready to awaken Leviathan.
⁹ May its morning stars be darkened;
    may it hope for light but have none—
    may it never see the eyelids of dawn.
¹⁰ For it did not shut the doors of the womb on me,
    nor did it hide trouble from my eyes.
¹¹ Why did I not die at birth
    and expire as I exited the womb?
¹² Why did the knees welcome me,
    and breasts that I might nurse?
¹³ For now I would be lying down and quiet;
    I would be asleep and at rest
¹⁴ with kings and counselors of the earth,
    who built for themselves places now desolate,
¹⁵ with princes who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.
¹⁶ Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn,
    like infants who never saw light?
¹⁷ There the wicked cease from turmoil,
    and there the weary are at rest.
¹⁸ Prisoners are at ease together;
    they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster.
¹⁹ Small and great are there;
    and slave is free from his master.

²⁰ Why is light given to one who suffers
    and life to the bitter of soul,
²¹ to those who long for death, but it does not come,
who dig for it more than for hidden treasures,
²² who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when finding the grave?
²³ Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
    and whom God has hedged in?
²⁴ For my sighing comes instead of my bread,
    and my groans pour out like water.
²⁵ For the thing I dreaded has come upon me,
    and what I feared has happened to me.
²⁶ I have no ease, no quietness;
    I have no rest, but turmoil came.”

² “If one attempts a word with you, will you become impatient?
But who can keep from speaking?
³ Behold, you have instructed many;
    you have strengthened weak hands.
⁴ Your words have supported those who stumbled,
    and strengthened buckling knees.
⁵ Yet now it has come to you,
    and you are discouraged;
it strikes you,
    and you are dismayed.

⁶ Is not your piety your confidence,
    the integrity of your ways your hope?
⁷ Reflect now:
    Who, being innocent, ever perished?
    And where were the upright destroyed?
⁸ As I have seen, those who plow iniquity
    and sow harm, reap them.^[o]
9 By the breath^[p] of God they perish;
    by the blast of His anger they vanish.^[q]
10 The lion may roar and the cub growl,
    but the teeth of young lions are broken.
¹¹ The mighty lion perishes for lack of prey
    and the lioness’ cubs are scattered.

¹⁷ Behold, happy is the one whom God corrects,
    so do not despise the discipline of Shaddai.
¹⁸ For He inflicts pain, but He also binds up;
He injures, yet His hands also heal.
¹⁹ From six calamities He will deliver you,
    even in seven, no harm will touch you.
²⁰ In famine, He will redeem you from death,
    and in war, from the power of the sword.
²¹ You will be hidden from the lash of the tongue,
    and not fear when violence comes.
²² You will laugh at violence and famine,
    and will not fear the beasts of the earth.
²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
    and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
²⁴ You will know shalom in your tent,
    and you will take stock of your home
    and find nothing missing.

²⁵ “You will know that
    your descendants will be numerous
    your offspring like the grass of the earth.
²⁶ You will come to the grave in vigor,
    like sheaves of grain in its season.
²⁷ Behold, we have investigated this—it is true.
Hear it, and apply it to yourself!”

² “If only my grief could be weighed
    and my calamity placed on the scales.
³ For it outweighs the sands of the sea;
    that is why my words have been rash.
⁴ For the arrows of Shaddai are in me,
    my spirit drinks in their poison;
God’s terrors line up against me.
⁵ Does a wild donkey bray over fresh grass
    or an ox bellow over his fodder?
⁶ Is something bland eaten without salt,
    is there taste in the white of an egg?
⁷ My soul refuses to touch them;
    they are like sickening food to me.

⁸ Oh that my request would be realized,
    that God would grant my hope;
⁹ that God would be willing to crush me,
    to release His hand, and cut me off!
¹⁰ Then I would still be comforted,
    even rejoice in spite of unrelenting pain,
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹ “What is my strength,
    that I should hope?
What is my end,
    that I should endure?
¹² Is my strength the strength of rock?
    Is my flesh bronze?
¹³ Is there no help within me;
    has not success been banished from me?

¹⁴ “A despairing person should have the kindness of his friend,
    even if he forsakes the fear of Shaddai.
¹⁵ My brothers have acted deceptively,
    as a seasonal stream,
    as a torrential stream that overflows
¹⁶ when darkened by thawing ice,
    and obscured by snow,
¹⁷ but when they are scorched, they dry up,
    and in the heat, they vanish from their place.
¹⁸ Caravans turn aside from their course;
    they go up into the wasteland and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of Tema looked intently,
    the travelers of Sheba hoped for them.
²⁰ They were distressed because they had been confident;
    they came so far and were disappointed.

²¹ “Indeed, now you have become nothing;
    you see a terror and are afraid.
²² Have I ever said, ‘Give to me’
    or ‘Pay a bribe for me from your wealth’
²³ or ‘Save me from the enemy’s hand’
    or ‘Redeem me from a ruthless hand’?
²⁴ “Teach me, and I will be silent;
    explain to me how I have been wrong.
²⁵ Honest words are painful,
    but what does your arguing prove?
²⁶ Do you intend to correct my words,
    and treat the words of
    a despairing man as wind?
²⁷ Would you cast lots for an orphan,
    and barter over your friend?

²⁸ “Now be so kind as to look at me;
    I will not lie to your face.
²⁹ Relent, do not be unjust;
    reconsider, for my righteousness is in it.
³⁰ Is injustice on my tongue?
    Can my palate not discern evil?”

¹¹ “So I will not keep silent;
    I will speak in the distress of my spirit,
    I will complain in bitterness of soul.
¹² Am I a sea, or a monster of the deep
    that You have set a watch over me?
¹³ When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
    my couch will ease my complaint,’
¹⁴ then You frighten me with dreams,
    and terrify me with visions,
¹⁵ so that my soul prefers strangulation,
    and my bones death.
¹⁶ I despise it; I would not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are a vapor.

¹⁷ “What is mankind,
    that You magnify him,
    that You set Your heart on him,
¹⁸ that You visit him every morning,
    and test him in every moment?
¹⁹ Will You never look away from me,
    or let me alone until I swallow my spittle?
²⁰ Have I sinned—
    what have I done to You,
    O watcher of men?
Why have You set me as Your target?
    Have I become a burden to You?
²¹ Why do You not pardon my transgression,
    and take away my iniquity?
For now I will lie down in the dust,
    and You will search for me,
    but I will be gone.”

⁸ Now ask the previous generation;
    consider the findings of their fathers;
⁹ for we were born yesterday
    and know nothing,
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.
¹⁰ Will they not teach you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their hearts?

¹¹ “Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh?
    Can reeds flourish without water?
¹² When still in bloom and uncut,
    it withers more quickly than other grass.
¹³ Such are the ways of all who forget God;
    the hope of the godless perishes—
¹⁴ whose confidence is snapped off,
    his trust is a spider’s web.
¹⁵ He leans against his house but it does not stand,
He holds fast to it, but it does not hold up.
¹⁶ He is a well-watered plant in the sun,
spreading his shoots over his garden;
¹⁷ he entwines his roots around a heap of stones,
and looks for a place between the rocks.
¹⁸ If he is uprooted from his place,
    it denies him saying, ‘I never saw you.’
¹⁹ Such is his joyous course,
    and from the earth others spring up.
²⁰ Surely God does not spurn the blameless
    or strengthen the hand of evildoers.
²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
    and your lips with shouts of joy.
²² Those who hate you will be clothed with shame.
The tent of the wicked will be no more!”

² “Truly I know it is so,
    but how can one be righteous before God?^[r]
3 If anyone wished to contend with Him,
    he could not answer Him once in a thousand.
⁴ He is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has resisted Him and come out whole?

⁵ “He who moves mountains,
    yet they do not know it,
    who overthrows them in His anger;
⁶ who shakes the earth from its place
    until its pillars tremble;
⁷ who speaks to the sun so it does not rise,
    and seals up the stars;
⁸ He alone spreads out the heavens,
    and treads on the waves of the sea;
⁹ He makes the Bear, Orion and Pleiades,
    and the constellations of the south;
¹⁰ He does great and unfathomable things,
    wonders beyond number.
¹¹ If He were to pass by me,
    I would not see Him!
Were He to move past me,
    I would not perceive Him.
¹² If He were to snatch away,
    who could restrain Him?
Who could say to Him,
    ‘What are You doing?’

¹³ “God does not restrain His anger;
    under Him the helpers of Rahab cower.
¹⁴ How then can I answer Him
    or choose my words with Him?
¹⁵ Even if I were right, I would not answer;
    I would implore the mercy of my Judge.
¹⁶ Even if I called and He answered me,
    I would not believe that He would listen to my voice.
¹⁷ He who crushes me with a storm
    and multiplies my wounds for no reason.
¹⁸ He does not allow me to catch my breath,
    but fills me with bitterness.
¹⁹ If it is a question of strength—
    certainly, He is the mighty One!
If it is a matter of justice—
    who will summon me?
²⁰ Even if I were innocent,
    my mouth would condemn me.
If I were guiltless,
    it will declare me perverse.

²¹ “I am guiltless.
I have no concern for myself.
I despise my life.
²² It is all the same, therefore I say,
    ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
²³ If a scourge smites suddenly,
    He mocks the despair of the innocent.
²⁴ If the land falls into the hand of the wicked
    He blindfolds the faces of its judges.
    If it is not He, then who is it?

²⁵ “My days are swifter than a runner;
    they flee away without seeing goodness.
²⁶ They slip by like reed boats,
    like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
²⁷ If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
    I will put off my sad face and be cheerful,’
²⁸ I still dread all my pains,
    for I know You will not find me innocent.
²⁹ If I am condemned—
    why should I struggle in vain?
³⁰ If I wash myself with melted snow
    and cleanse my hands with lye,
³¹ then You would plunge me into a pit
    and my own clothes would detest me.
³² For He is not a human being, like I am,
    that I could answer Him,
    that we could go to court together.
³³ There is no arbitrator between us,
    who could lay his hand on us both;
³⁴ who could remove His rod from me,
    so that His terror would not frighten me.
³⁵ Then I would speak and not fear Him
    —except it is not so with me.”

⁸ “Your hands molded and fashioned me,
    will You now destroy me completely?
⁹ Remember You fashioned me like clay;
    will You return me to dust?
¹⁰ Did You not pour me out like milk
    and curdle me like cheese,
¹¹ clothe me with skin and flesh
    and knit me together with bones and sinews?
¹² You gave me life and steadfast love,
    and Your care has preserved my spirit.

¹³ “Yet these things You have hid in Your heart,
    for I know that this is with You.
¹⁴ If I sinned, You would watch me,
    and not acquit me of my iniquity.
¹⁵ If I am guilty, woe to me!
Even if I am innocent,
    I cannot lift my head.
I am full of shame
    and conscious of my affliction.
¹⁶ If my head is held high,
    You hunt me like a lion,
    and again work wonders against me.
¹⁷ You renew Your witnesses against me,
    and increase Your anger toward me,
    change and warfare are with me.

¹⁸ “Why then did You bring me out from the womb?
I should have died so no eye would have seen me.
¹⁹ If only I had never come into being,
    or been carried from womb to grave.
²⁰ Are not my days few?
Then stop, leave me alone
    so I might have a little joy,
²¹ before I depart, and never return,
    to the land of darkness
    and the shadow of death,
²² the land of utter darkness,
    like the deepest darkness and disorder,
    where even the light is like darkness.”

² “Should so many words go unanswered?
    Is a man justified by his lips?
³ Will your idle talk silence men
    and will no one rebuke you when you mock?
⁴ For you have said,
    ‘My teaching is flawless’
    and ‘I am pure in Your eyes!’
⁵ But if only God would speak
    and open His lips against you,
⁶ and show you the secrets of wisdom—
    for sound wisdom has two sides.
Know that God has forgotten some of your iniquity.

⁷ “Can you discover the mysteries of God?
    Can you find the limits of Shaddai?
⁸ They are higher than the heavens
    —what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol
    —what can you know?
⁹ Its measure is longer than the earth
    and wider than the sea.

¹⁰ “If He comes by and imprisons, or convenes a court,
    who can prevent Him?
¹¹ For He knows deceitful men;
    when He sees wickedness, does he not consider it?
¹² But a witless man will gain understanding
when a wild donkey’s colt is born a human being?

¹³ “If you devote your heart to Him
    and spread out your hands to Him,
¹⁴ if you put away the wickedness that is in your hand,
and allow no iniquity to abide in your tent,
¹⁵ then you will lift up your face without reproach;
you will stand firm and without fear.
¹⁶ You will forget your trouble;
    you will remember it like water that has flowed away.
¹⁷ Life will be brighter than noonday;
    darkness like the morning.
¹⁸ You will be confident, because there is hope;
you will look about you and lie down in safety.
¹⁹ You will lie down with no one to make you afraid,
    many will seek your favor.
²⁰ But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
    and escape will elude them;
    their only hope is their dying breath.”^[s]

² “Without a doubt you are the people
    and wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have a mind as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Who does not know these things?

⁴ “I have become a laughingstock to my friend,
    though I called on God and He answered—
    a righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock!
⁵ Contempt for calamity is the thought of one at ease,
    prepared for those whose foot slips.
⁶ The tents of marauders prosper,
    and there is security for those who provoke God—
    for those whom God brings in His hand.
⁷ But now ask the animals and they will teach you,
    or the birds of the sky and they will tell you,
⁸ or speak to the earth and it will teach you,
    or the fish of the sea and they will inform you.
⁹ Which of these does not know
    that the hand of Adonai has done this?
¹⁰ In His hand is the life of every creature,
    and the breath of all the human race.
¹¹ Does not the ear test words
    as the palate tastes food?
¹² Is not wisdom with the aged
    and understanding bring long life?
¹³ “With Him are wisdom and power;
    counsel and understanding are His.
¹⁴ If He tears down, it cannot be rebuilt;
    one He imprisons cannot be released.
¹⁵ If He holds back the waters, they dry up;
if He releases them, they destroy the earth.
¹⁶ With Him are power and sound wisdom;
    both deceived and deceiver are His.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away stripped
    and makes judges into fools.
¹⁸ He loosens the bonds of the kings,
    and binds a loincloth around their waists.
¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped
    and overthrows the rulers.
²⁰ He silences the lips of trusted advisors
    and removes the discernment of elders.
²¹ He pours contempt on nobles
    and loosens the belts of the mighty.
²² He reveals the deep things of darkness^[t]
    and brings utter darkness into light.
²³ He makes nations great
    and destroys them.
He enlarges the nations
    and leads them away.
²⁴ He deprives the heads of the people of earth of understanding,
and causes them to wander in a pathless wasteland.
²⁵ They grope in darkness with no light;
    He makes them stagger like a drunkard.

¹³ Be silent and let me speak;
    then let come to me what may.
¹⁴ Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
    and take my life in my hands?
¹⁵ Even if He slays me, I will wait for Him;
    I will surely defend my ways before Him.
¹⁶ This, too, will be my salvation
    for no godless can come before Him.

¹⁷ “Listen carefully to my words,
    and let my declaration be in your ears.
¹⁸ See now, I have prepared my case;
    I know that I will be vindicated.
¹⁹ Who will contend with me?
    If so, I will be silent and die.

²⁰ “Only two things do not do to me;
    then I will not hide from Your face:
²¹ withdraw Your hand far from me,
    and do not assail me with Your terror.
²² Then call, and I will answer,
    or I will speak, and You respond to me.
²³ How many are my iniquities and sins?
    Show me my transgressions and sin.
²⁴ Why do You hide Your face
    and consider me Your enemy?
²⁵ Will You frighten a windblown leaf
    and chase after dry chaff?
²⁶ For You write bitter things against me
    and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
²⁷ You put my feet in shackles and watch all my paths;
You put marks on the soles of my feet.

²⁸ “So he wastes away
    like something rotten,
    like a moth-eaten garment.

⁷ “At least there is hope for a tree—
    if it is cut down it will sprout again,
    and its shoots will not cease.
⁸ Though its roots grow old in the earth
    and its stump dies in the dry ground,
⁹ at the scent of water it will bud
    and sprout sprigs like a new plant.
¹⁰ But man dies and is powerless.
    Man expires—and where is he?
¹¹ As water evaporates from the sea
    and a river drains away and dries up,
¹² so a person lies down and does not rise;
    until the heavens are no more,
people will not awake,
    or be roused from their sleep.
¹³ “Oh that You would hide me in Sheol,
    and conceal me until Your wrath has passed!
Oh that You would set a time for me
    and then remember me!
¹⁴ If a man dies, will he live again?
    All the days of my hard labor
    I will wait until my relief comes.
¹⁵ You will call and I—I will answer You;
    You will long for the work of Your hands.
¹⁶ For then You will number my steps;
    You will not keep track of my sin;
¹⁷ my transgression will be sealed in a bundle
    and cover over my iniquity.

¹⁸ “Yet as a mountain falls away and crumbles
    and a rock is moved from its place,
¹⁹ as water wears away stones
    and torrents wash away the soil,
    so You destroy a person’s hope.
²⁰ You overpower him—once for all, and he perishes;
You change his appearance and send him away.
²¹ If his sons achieve honor,
    he does not know it;
if they are brought low,
    he does not perceive it.
²² He only feels pain for his own flesh,
    and mourns for his own soul.”

² “Does a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
    or fill his belly with the east wind?
³ Does he argue with useless talk
    and words that have no value in them?
⁴ You even do away with reverence
    and hinder devotion before God.
⁵ For your iniquity prompts your mouth
    and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
⁶ Your own mouth condemns you—not I;
    your own lips testify against you.

⁷ “Are you the first man to be born?
    Were you brought forth before the hills?
⁸ Do you listen in on God’s counsel?
    Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
⁹ What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that we do not understand?
¹⁰ Both gray-haired and aged are with us,
    men even older than your father.
¹¹ Are the comforts of God too small for you,
    or a gentle word toward you?
¹² Why has your heart carried you away
    and why do your eyes flash,
¹³ so that you turn your spirit against God
    and bring such words out of your mouth?

¹⁴ “What is man, that he could be pure,
    or one born of woman, that he could be righteous?
¹⁵ If He puts no trust in His holy ones,
    if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,
¹⁶ how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,
    who drinks evil like water!

¹⁷ I will tell you; listen to me,
    and what I have seen I will declare,
¹⁸ what wise men have declared
    and did not hide from their ancestors,
¹⁹ to whom alone the land was given,
    when no foreigner passed among them:
²⁰ All his days the wicked suffers torment,
    and numbered are the years stored up for the tyrant.
²¹ Terrifying sounds are in his ears;
    in a time of peace, marauders attack him.
²² He does not expect to escape from darkness;
    he is destined for the sword.
²³ He wanders about for bread—‘Where is it?’
He knows that the day of darkness is at hand.
²⁴ Distress and anguish terrify him;
    they overpower him like a king poised to attack,
²⁵ for he raises his hand against God
    and flaunts himself against Shaddai,
²⁶ defiantly rushing at Him
    with a thick, strong shield.
²⁷ Because He covered his face with his fat
    and made his hips bulge with blubber,
²⁸ he lived in ruined cities,
    in houses which no one inhabits,
    which are ready to crumble into heaps.
²⁹ He will not become rich, and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions spread over the land.
³⁰ He will not escape from the darkness;
    a flame will wither his shoots,
and he will depart by the breath of His mouth.

³¹ “Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
    for emptiness will be his reward.
³² Before his day it will be paid in full
    and his branch will not be green.
³³ He will shake off his unripe grapes like a vine,
    and cast off his blossoms like an olive tree.
³⁴ For the company of the godless is barren,
    and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
³⁵ They conceive mischief and bring forth evil
    and their belly prepares deception.”

² “I have heard many things like these;
    you are miserable comforters, all of you!
³ Is there no end to your futile words?
    What compels you to answer?
⁴ I too could speak like you,
    if you were in my place;
I could compose words against you
    and shake my head at you.
⁵ But I would strengthen you with my mouth
and comfort from my lips would bring you relief.

⁶ “Yet, if I speak, my pain is not relieved,
and if I refrain, does it not go away from me?
⁷ Surely now He has exhausted me;
    You have devastated my entire household.
⁸ You have seized me—
    it has become a witness;
my leanness rises against me
    and testifies to my face.
⁹ His anger has torn and tormented me;
    He gnashes at me with his teeth;
my enemy looks at me with daggers in his eyes.
¹⁰ People open their mouths against me;
    they strike my cheek in contempt;
    they unite together against me.
¹¹ God has handed me over to the ungodly,
    and tossed me into the hands of the wicked.
¹² I was at ease, but He shattered me;
    He grabbed me by the neck and crushed me.
    He has made me His target;
¹³ His archers surround me.
    Without mercy He pierces my kidneys
    and spills my gall on the ground.
¹⁴ He breaks through against me, breach after breach.
He runs after me like a warrior.

¹⁵ “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin
    and sunk my horn in the dust;
¹⁶ my face is red from weeping,
    and on my eyelids are deep darkness;
¹⁷ yet no violence is in my hands
    and my prayer is pure.
¹⁸ “Earth, do not cover my blood,
    and let my cry find no resting place!
¹⁹ Even now my witness is in heaven,^[u]
    my advocate is on high.
²⁰ My intercessor is my friend;
    as my eyes pour out tears to God;
²¹ he contends with God on behalf of man
    as one pleads for a friend.

²² “For the number of years will come to pass,
and then I will go the way of no return.

³ “Make then a pledge for me with You.
    Who else would strike hands with me?
⁴ Because You have closed their heart to understanding,
    therefore You will not exalt them.
⁵ If anyone denounces his friends for profit
    the eyes of his children will fail.
⁶ He has made me a byword to people,
    I am the one in whose face people spit.
⁷ My eyes have grown dim with grief
    and all my limbs are like a shadow.
⁸ The upright are appalled at this;
    the innocent are stirred up against the ungodly.
⁹ But the righteous one holds to his way,
    and the one with clean hands grows stronger.

¹⁰ “But turn, all of you, come now!
    I will not find a wise man among you.
¹¹ My days have passed, my plans are torn apart.
Yet the desires of my heart
¹² turn night into day;
    in the face of darkness light is near.
¹³ If I hope for Sheol as my home,
    if I make my bed in darkness,
¹⁴ if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’
    and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
¹⁵ where then is my hope?
    And my hope, who sees it?
¹⁶ Will it go down to the gates of Sheol?
    Will we descend together into the dust?”

² “How long until you end these words?
    Consider, and then we will talk.
³ Why are we regarded as beasts,
    and stupid in your eyes?
⁴ You, who tear yourself to pieces in anger,
    will the earth be abandoned for your sake?
    Or must a rock be moved from its place?
⁵ Indeed, the light of the wicked is snuffed out;
    the flame of his fire does not shine.
⁶ The light in his tent grows dark;
    the lamp above him goes out.
⁷ His vigorous stride is shortened,
    and his own scheme throws him down.
⁸ For he is cast into a net by his feet;
    he wanders into its mesh.
⁹ A trap seizes him by the heel;
    a snare holds him fast.
¹⁰ A rope is hidden for him on the ground,
    and a trap for him lies on the path.
¹¹ On every side terrors frighten him
    and harass his every step.
¹² Calamity is hungry for him;
    disaster is ready for his fall.
¹³ It eats away pieces of his skin;
    death’s firstborn devours his limbs.
¹⁴ He is torn from the security of his tent,
    and marched off to the king of terrors.
¹⁵ Nothing of his dwells in his tent;
    brimstone is scattered over his dwelling.
¹⁶ Below his roots dry up,
    and above his branches wither.
¹⁷ His memory perishes from the earth
    and he has no name in the land.
¹⁸ He is driven from light into darkness
    and is banished from the world.
¹⁹ He has no offspring or descendant among his people,
    no survivor where he once dwelt.
²⁰ People of the west are appalled at his fate;
    people of the east are seized with horror.
²¹ Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked;
    such is the place of one who does not know God.”

² “How long will you torment my soul
    and crush me with words?
³ Ten times now you have reproached me;
    you attack me shamelessly.
⁴ But even if it is true that I have erred,
    my error remains with me.
⁵ If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me
    and prove my humiliation against me,
⁶ then know that God has wronged me
    and encircled me with His net.

⁷ “Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response.
I cry for help, but there is no justice.
⁸ He has blocked my way so I cannot pass,
    and has shrouded my path in darkness.
⁹ He has stripped me of my honor,
    and removed the crown from my head.
¹⁰ He tears me down on every side until I am gone;
    He uproots my hope like a tree.
¹¹ His anger burns against me,
    and He considers me among His enemies.
¹² His troops advance together;
    they build a siege ramp against me
    and encamp around my tent.

¹³ “He removed my brothers far from me;
    my acquaintances are only strangers to me.
¹⁴ My relatives have gone away and my close friends
    have forgotten me.
¹⁵ My houseguests and my maidservants consider me a stranger.
I have become a foreigner in their eyes.
¹⁶ I call my servant but he does not reply
    though I beg him with my own mouth.
¹⁷ My breath is repulsive to my wife;
    I am loathsome to my children.
¹⁸ Even young children despise me;
    when I stand, they speak against me.^[v]
19 All my close friends despise me;
    those I love have turned against me.
²⁰ My bones cling to my skin and my flesh;
    I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.

²¹ “Have pity on me my friends, have pity,
for the hand of God has struck me.
²² Why do you pursue me—like God?
    Are you not satisfied with my flesh?
²³ Oh that my words were written,
    that they were recorded in a scroll
²⁴ that with an iron pen and lead,
    they were engraved in stone forever!

²⁸ “If you say, ‘How we will pursue him,
    since the root of the matter is found in him;’
²⁹ then you should fear the sword for yourselves;
    for wrath brings the punishments of the sword—
    so that you may know judgment!”

² “In truth, my troubled thoughts urge me to answer
    because of my feelings within me.
³ I hear a rebuke that dishonors me
    and my understanding inspires me to reply.
⁴ Do you not know that it has been from old,
    since mankind was put on earth,
⁵ that the triumph of the wicked is short
    and the joy of the godless is but for a moment?
⁶ Though his pride reaches to the heavens,
    and his head touches the clouds,
⁷ he perishes forever like his own dung.
    Those who have seen him will say,
    ‘Where is he?’
⁸ Like a dream, he flies away
    and they cannot find him;
like a vision of the night,
    he is chased away.
⁹ The eye that saw him will not see him again;
    his place will look on him no more.
¹⁰ His children must recompense the poor;
    his own hands must give back his wealth.
¹¹ His bones were full of his youthful vigor
    but it will lie down with him in the dust.
¹² Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
    though he hides it under his tongue,
¹³ though he cannot bear to let it go
    and holds it in his mouth,
¹⁴ his food turns sour in his stomach;
    it becomes the venom of serpents within him.
¹⁵ He swallows riches and vomits them up;
    God empties it out of his stomach.
¹⁶ He sucks the poison of serpents;
    fangs of a viper kill him.
¹⁷ He will not look at streams,
    rivers flowing with honey and butter.
¹⁸ He gives back what he toiled for without swallowing it;
he will not enjoy the riches of his trade.
¹⁹ For he has oppressed and abandoned the poor.
He has seized a house he did not build.
²⁰ For he knows no satisfaction from his greed,
    he cannot save himself by his desires.
²¹ Nothing remains for him to devour;
    therefore his prosperity will not last.
²² In the fullness of his plenty, he will be distressed;
the full force of misery will come upon him.
²³ While he is filling his belly,
    He will send the anger of His wrath against him,
    and rain it down it on him, on his flesh.
²⁴ Though he flees from an iron weapon,
    a bronze bow pierces him through.
²⁵ He pulls and it comes out of his back,
    the gleaming point out of his liver.
Terrors come upon him!
²⁶ Total darkness waits for his treasures;
    A fire not fanned will devour him;
    it will consume what is left in his tent.
²⁷ The heavens will expose his iniquity;
    the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ A flood will carry off his house,
    rushing waters on the day of His wrath.
²⁹ Such is the wicked man’s lot from God,
    the heritage appointed to him by God.”

² “Listen carefully to my words;
    let this be your consolation.
³ Bear with me as I speak,
    and after I have spoken, mock on.
⁴ As for me, is my complaint against man?
    If so, why should I not be impatient?
⁵ Look at me and be appalled;
    put your hand over your mouth.
⁶ When I think of it, I am terrified
    and my flesh shudders.
⁷ Why do the wicked go on living,
    growing old and increasing in power?
⁸ Their children are established in their presence,
    their offspring before their eyes.
⁹ Their homes have peace and are free from fear;
    no rod of God is on them.
¹⁰ His bull breeds without fail;
    his cow calves and do not miscarry.
¹¹ They send out their little ones like a flock
    and their children dance.
¹² They sing to the tambourine and harp
    and rejoice at the sound of the flute.
¹³ They spend their days in prosperity,
    and in a moment go down to Sheol.
¹⁴ Yet they say to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    We have no desire to know Your ways.
¹⁵ Who is Shaddai that we should serve Him?
    What would we gain if we pray to Him?’
¹⁶ Look, their prosperity is not in their own hands;
    the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷ “How often is the lamp of the wicked snuffed out
    or calamity fallen on them?
How often does He allot pain in His anger?
¹⁸ How often are they like straw before the wind;
    like chaff swept away by a storm?
¹⁹ You say, ‘God stores up the punishment for his children.’
    Let Him repay the wicked so he may know it!
²⁰ Let his own eyes see his ruin;
    let him drink the wrath of Shaddai.
²¹ For what does he care for his family that he leaves behind,
when the number of his months has come to an end?

²² “Can anyone teach God knowledge,
    since He judges even the highest.
²³ One dies in his full strength,^[y]
    completely secure and at ease.
²⁴ His pails are full of milk;
    His bones are moist with marrow.
²⁵ Yet another dies in bitterness of soul,
    never having tasted goodness.
²⁶ Together they lie in the dust
    and worms cover over them.

²⁷ “Behold, I know your thoughts,
    the schemes by which you wrong me.
²⁸ For you ask, ‘Where is the nobleman’s house
    and the tent where the wicked lived?’
²⁹ Have you not asked travelers?
    Do you not recognize their accounts
³⁰ that the wicked are spared for the day of calamity
that they are brought to the day of wrath?
³¹ Who declares his conduct to his face?
    Who repays him for what he has done?
³² He is brought to the grave,
    and watch is kept over his tomb.
³³ The soil in the valley is sweet to him;
    everyone follows after him,
    and countless are those before him.

³⁴ “So how will your futility comfort me,
    for your answers remain nothing but falsehood?”

² “Can a man be useful to God?
    Can even a wise man benefit Him?
³ What pleasure is it to Shaddai if you are righteous?
Or what gain if your ways are blameless?
⁴ Is it because of your reverence that He corrects you
    and He brings judgment against you?
⁵ Is not your wickedness great,
    and is there no end to your iniquity?
⁶ For you took pledges from your brothers for no reason;
    you stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷ You gave the weary no water to drink
    and from the hungry you withhold bread,
⁸ Though you were a mighty man, owning land—
    an honored man living on it.
⁹ You sent widows away empty-handed
    and crushed the arms of orphans.

¹⁰ “That is why snares surround you,
    and why sudden fear terrifies you,
¹¹ or why it is so dark that you cannot see.
    and why a flood of water covers you.

¹² “Is not God in the heights of heaven?
    And see the lofty stars how high they are?
¹³ Yet you say, ‘What does God know?
    Does He judge through such thick darkness?
¹⁴ Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see,
    as He walks in the vault of heaven.’
¹⁵ Will you keep to the old way
    that wicked men have trod?
¹⁶ They were snatched away before their time,
    their foundations washed away by a river.
¹⁷ They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    What can Shaddai do to us?’
¹⁸ Yet He filled their houses with good things—
    but the counsel of the wicked is far from me!
¹⁹ The righteous see and rejoice;
    the innocent mock them, saying,
²⁰ ‘Surely our foes are cut off,
    and fire consumes their abundance.’

²¹ “Reconcile now with Him and have shalom—
    in this way prosperity will come to you.
²² Accept instruction from His mouth
    and store up His words in your heart.
²³ If you return to Shaddai, you will be restored;
if you remove iniquity far from your tent
²⁴ and throw your gold in the dust,
    and the gold of Ophir to the rocks in the wadis,
²⁵ then Shaddai will be your gold
    and your precious silver.
²⁶ Surely then Shaddai will be your delight
    and you will lift up your face to God.
²⁷ You will pray to Him and He will hear you,
    and you will fulfill your vows.
²⁸ What you decide will be done,
    and light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ When people are brought low, and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
    then He will save the downcast.
³⁰ He will deliver even one who is not innocent,
    who will be delivered by the cleanness of your hands.”

² “Even today my complaint is rebellious;
    His hand is heavy despite my groaning.
³ If only I knew where to find Him;
    if only I could go to His dwelling.
⁴ I would lay out my case before Him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would know with what words He would answer me,
    and understand what He would say to me.
⁶ Would He oppose me with great power?
    No, He would only pay attention to me.
⁷ There the upright can reason with Him,
    and there I would forever be delivered from my Judge.
⁸ But, if I go to the east, He is not there;
    if I go to the west,
    I do not find Him.
⁹ When He is in the north, I cannot perceive Him;
When He turns south, I do not see Him.
¹⁰ Yet He knows the way that I take;
    if He tested me, I would come out as gold.
¹¹ My foot has held closely to His steps;
    I have kept to His way and have not strayed.
¹² I have not departed from the commands of His lips.
I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
¹³ He is unchangeable, and who can change Him?
Whatever His soul desires, He does.
¹⁴ For He fulfills the decree against me,
    and many such things are with Him.
¹⁵ That is why I am terrified at His presence;
    when I consider this, I fear Him.
¹⁶ God has made my heart faint;
    Shaddai has terrified me.
¹⁷ Yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
nor by the thick darkness that covers my face.”

² “Dominion and awe are with Him;
    He establishes shalom in His heights.
³ Can His armies be counted?
    On whom does His light not rise?
⁴ How then can a man be righteous with God?
    How can one born of a woman be pure?
⁵ If even the moon is not bright
    and the stars are not pure in His eyes,
⁶ how much less man who is but a maggot—
    a son of man who is a worm!”

² “How you have helped the powerless!
    How you have saved the arm without strength!
³ How you have counseled the one without wisdom
    and revealed your abundant insights!
⁴ To whom have you uttered words?
    Whose spirit has come from your mouth?

⁵ “The dead tremble—those beneath the water
    and all that live in them.
⁶ Sheol is naked before Him;
    Abaddon has no covering.^[z]
7 He stretches out the north over the void;
    He suspendsthe earth over nothing.
⁸ He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
    yet the clouds do not burst under them.
⁹ He covers the face of the full moon,
    spreading His clouds over it.
¹⁰ He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters,
    for a boundary between light and dark.
¹¹ The pillars of heaven tremble,
    astounded at His rebuke!
¹² By His power He churns up the sea;
    by His understanding He smashed Rahab.
¹³ By His Ruach the heavens are clear;
    His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
¹⁴ Indeed, these are but glimpses of His ways; how faint the whisper, we hear of Him!
Who then can understand the thunder of His might?”

² “As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,
    Shaddai who has made my soul bitter,
³ as long as my breath is still in me,
    the Ruach of God in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will speak no injustice,
    nor will my tongue mutter deceit.
⁵ Far be it from me to say that you are just;
    until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!
⁶ I will maintain my righteousness, and not let it go;
my conscience will not reproach me for any of my days.

⁷ “May my enemy be like the wicked
    my enemy like the unrighteous.
⁸ For what hope has the godless,
    when he is cut off,
    when God takes his soul?^[aa]
9 Will God hear his cry
    when trouble comes upon him?
¹⁰ Will he delight in Shaddai?
    Will he call upon God at all times?
¹¹ I will teach you about the hand of God;
    I will not conceal the ways of Shaddai.
¹² Look, you have all seen this yourselves.
    Why then this meaningless talk?

¹³ “This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
the inheritance that ruthless men receive from Shaddai.
¹⁴ If his children increase—
    it is for the sword.
His offspring will never
    have enough to eat.
¹⁵ Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
and their widows will not weep.
¹⁶ Though he piles up silver like dust,
    and clothing like heaps of mortar,
¹⁷ what he lays up, the righteous will wear,
    and the upright will divide the silver.
¹⁸ The house he built is like a moth’s cocoon,
    like a hut made for a watchman.
¹⁹ “He lies down wealthy,
    but will gather no more.
When he opens his eyes,
    all is gone!
²⁰ Terrors overtake him like a flood;
    a storm sweeps him away at night.
²¹ The east wind picks him up and he is gone;
    it sweeps him out of his place.
²² It hurls itself at him without pity
    as he flees headlong from its hand.
²³ It claps its hands at him in derision,
    and hisses him out of his place.”

¹² “But where can wisdom be found?
    Where is the place of understanding?
¹³ No mortal comprehends its worth;
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The deep says, ‘It is not in me’—
    The sea says, ‘It’s not with me.’
¹⁵ Pure gold cannot be given for it,
    nor can its price be weighed in silver.
¹⁶ It cannot be weighed in gold from Ophir,
    in precious onyx, or sapphire.
¹⁷ Neither gold or crystal can compare with it,
nor vessels of fine gold exchanged for it.
¹⁸ No mention will be made of coral or jasper;
    the price of wisdom is more than pearls.
¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare to it;
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.
²⁰ Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where is the place of understanding?
²¹ It has been hidden from the eyes of all living things,
    concealed from the birds of the sky.
²² Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘With our ears we have heard a rumor of it.’

²³ “God understands its way
    and He knows its place.
²⁴ He looks to the ends of the earth,
    and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ When He made the force of the wind,
    and measured out the waters,
²⁶ when He set a limit for the rain
    and a path for the thunderstorm,
²⁷ then He looked at it and assessed it
    established it and examined it.
²⁸ And He said to mankind,
    ‘The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.”’

¹¹ “When the ear heard,
    it called me blessed,
and when the eye saw me,
    it commended me;
¹² for I saved the poor who cried for help,
and the orphan who had no one to help him;
¹³ the blessing of the dying man came on me,
and I made the widow’s heart sing for joy.
¹⁴ I put on righteousness as my clothing;
    justice was as my robe and turban.
¹⁵ I was eyes for the blind
    and feet for the lame;
¹⁶ I was a father to the needy,
    and I investigated the case of one I did not know.
¹⁷ I broke the jaws of the unjust,
    and snatched the prey out of his teeth.

¹⁸ “Then I thought, ‘I will die in my nest,
    and multiply my days like the sand.
¹⁹ My roots reach the water,
    and dew lies on my branches all night.
²⁰ My glory is fresh within me,
    and my bow is renewed in my hand.’

²¹ “People listened to me and waited,
    and kept silent for my advice.
²² After I had spoken, they spoke no more;
my words fell on them drop by drop.
²³ They waited for me as for the rain,
and opened their mouths as for spring rain.
²⁴ When I joked with them, they hardly believed it;
they did not cause the light of my face to fall.
²⁵ I chose their way and sat as their chief;
    I lived as a king among the troops;
    I was like one who comforts mourners.

²⁰ “I cry out to You, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, but You only look at me.
²¹ You have turned on me cruelly;
    You attack me with the might of Your hand.
²² You lift me up on the wind
    and make me ride on it;
    You toss me about in the storm.
²³ For I know that you will bring me to death,
    to the house appointed for all the living.
²⁴ Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out His hand,
    and in his distress cry for help?
²⁵ Have I not wept for the unfortunate?
    Was not my soul grieved for the poor?
²⁶ Yet, when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I waited for light, then darkness came.
²⁷ “My heart^[ab] seethes and never stops;
    days of suffering confront me.
²⁸ I walk about blackened, but not by the sun;
I stand in the assembly and cry for help.
²⁹ I have become a brother to jackals,
    and a companion to ostriches.
³⁰ My skin has turned black on me;
    my bones burn with heat.
³¹ My harp is for mourning
    and my flute for the sound of weeping.