“Indeed, how could the strength of their hands profit me?
Vigor had perished from them.

“They are gaunt with want and famine;
They gnaw the dry and barren ground by night in [the gloom of] waste and desolation.

“They pluck [and eat] saltwort (mallows) among the bushes,
And their food is the root of the broom shrub.

“They are driven from the community;
They shout after them as after a thief.

“They must dwell on the slopes of wadis
And in holes in the ground and in rocks.

“Among the bushes they cry out [like wild animals];
Beneath the prickly scrub they gather and huddle together.

“They are the sons of [worthless and nameless] fools,
They have been driven out of the land.

“They hate me, they stand aloof from me,
And do not refrain from spitting in my face.

“For God has loosed His bowstring [attacking me] and [He has] afflicted and humbled me;
They have cast off the bridle [of restraint] before me.

“On my right the [rabble] brood rises;
They push my feet away, and they build up their ways of destruction against me [like an advancing army].

“They break up and clutter my path [upsetting my plans],
They profit from my destruction;
No one restrains them.

“As through a wide breach they come,
Amid the crash [of falling walls] they roll on [over me].

“Terrors are turned upon me;
They chase away my honor and reputation like the wind,
And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

“If I have despised and rejected the claim of my male or female servants
When they filed a complaint against me,

“If I have withheld from the poor what they desired,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to look in vain [for relief],

Elihu’s anger burned against Job’s three friends because they had found no answer [and were unable to determine Job’s error], and yet they had condemned Job and declared him to be in the wrong [and responsible for his own afflictions].

“They (Job’s friends) are dismayed and embarrassed, they no longer answer;
The words have moved away and failed them,” [says Elihu].

“And shall I wait, because they say nothing,
But stand still and say no more?

“My words will express the uprightness of my heart,
And my lips will speak what they know with utter sincerity.

“Who is not partial to princes,
Nor does He regard the rich above the poor,
For they all are the work of His hands.

“In a moment they die, even at midnight
The people are shaken and pass away,
And the powerful are taken away without a [human] hand.

“Therefore He knows of their works,
And He overthrows them in the night,
So that they are crushed and destroyed.

Because they turned aside from following Him
And would not consider or show regard for any of His ways,

So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him,
And He heard the cry of the afflicted.

“Because of the multitudes of oppressions the people cry out;
They cry for help because of the [violent] arm of the mighty.

“He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous [those in right standing with Him];
But with kings upon the throne
He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

“And if they are bound in bonds [of adversity],
And held by cords of affliction,

Then He declares to them [the true character of] their deeds
And their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly [with presumption and notions of self-sufficiency].

“He opens their ears to instruction and discipline,
And commands that they return from evil.

“If they hear and serve Him,
They will end their days in prosperity
And their years in pleasantness and joy.

“But if they do not hear and obey, they will die by the sword [of God’s destructive judgments]
And they will die [in ignorance] without [true] knowledge.

“But the godless in heart store up anger [at the divine discipline];
They do not cry [to Him] for help when He binds them [with cords of affliction].

“They die in youth,
And their life ends among the cult prostitutes.

“Its direction is turned around by His guidance,
That it may do whatever He commands it
On the face of the inhabited earth.

“Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?

When they crouch in their dens
And lie in wait in their lair?

“Can you count the months that they carry offspring,
Or do you know the time when they give birth?

“They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They cast out their labor pains.

“Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open field;
They leave and do not return to them.

“The [flightless] wings of the ostrich wave joyously;
With the pinion (shackles, fetters) and plumage of love,

“She treats her young cruelly, as if they were not hers;
Though her labor is in vain because she is unconcerned [for the safety of her brood],

Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him,
And [if you are so able] tread down the wicked where they stand.

“Will traders bargain over him?
Will they divide him up among the merchants?

“They are joined one to another;
They stick together and cannot be separated.

“The folds of his flesh are joined together,
Firm on him and immobile [when he moves].

“When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid;
Because of the crashing they are bewildered.

Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him over all the [distressing] adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of money, and each a ring of gold.

The wicked [those who live in disobedience to God’s law] are not so,
But they are like the chaff [worthless and without substance] which the wind blows away.

The kings of the earth take their stand;
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and His Anointed (the Davidic King, the Messiah, the Christ), saying,

O Lord, how my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.

You have put joy in my heart,
More than [others know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly.

For there is nothing trustworthy or reliable or truthful in what they say;
Their heart is destruction [just a treacherous chasm, a yawning gulf of lies].
Their throat is an open grave;
They [glibly] flatter with their [silken] tongue.

Hold them guilty, O God;
Let them fall by their own designs and councils!
Cast them out because of the abundance of their transgressions,
For they are mutinous and have rebelled against You.

When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and perish before You.

And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.

The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.

In pride and arrogance the wicked hotly pursue and persecute the afflicted;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

For look, the wicked are bending the bow;
They take aim with their arrow on the string
To shoot [by stealth] in darkness at the upright in heart.

They speak deceitful and worthless words to one another;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

The [spiritually ignorant] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed repulsive and unspeakable deeds;
There is no one who does good.

They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

Have all the workers of wickedness and injustice no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?

There they tremble with great fear,
For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

As for the saints (godly people) who are in the land,
They are the majestic and the noble and the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

They have closed their unfeeling heart [to kindness and compassion];
With their mouths they speak proudly and make presumptuous claims.

They track us down and have now surrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes to force us to the ground,

From men with Your hand, O Lord,
From men of the world [these moths of the night] whose portion [of enjoyment] is in this life—idle and vain,
And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And they leave what they have left [of wealth] to their children.

Then the earth shook and quaked,
The foundations of the mountains trembled;
They were shaken because He was indignant and angry.

He rescued me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
But the Lord was my support.

I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
And I did not turn back until they were consumed.

I shattered them so that they were not able to rise;
They fell [wounded] under my feet.

They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
Even to the Lord [they cried], but He did not answer them.

As soon as they hear me, they respond and obey me;
Foreigners feign obedience to me.

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

They have bowed down and fallen,
But we have risen and stood upright.

For they planned evil against You;
They devised a [malevolent] plot
And they will not succeed.

In You our fathers trusted [leaned on, relied on, and were confident];
They trusted and You rescued them.

They cried out to You and were delivered;
They trusted in You and were not disappointed or ashamed.

All who see me laugh at me and mock me;
They [insultingly] open their lips, they shake their head, saying,

They open wide their mouths against me,
Like a ravening and a roaring lion.

For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me;
A gang of evildoers has encircled me,
They pierced my hands and my feet.

They divide my clothing among them
And cast lots for my garment.

The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!

All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust (the dead) will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.

Posterity will serve Him;
They will tell of the Lord to the next generation.

They will come and declare His righteousness
To a people yet to be born—that He has done it [and that it is finished].

Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.

The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness of it,
The world, and those who dwell in it.

Remember, O Lord, Your [tender] compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been from of old.

All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my wickedness and my guilt, for they are great.

The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning.

Look upon my enemies, for they are many;
They hate me with cruel and violent hatred.

When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.

Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have come against me;
They breathe out violence.

Repay them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Repay them according to the deeds of their hands;
Repay them what they deserve.

Because they have no regard for the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not rebuild them.

You will draw me out of the net that they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength and my stronghold.

For I have heard the slander and whispering of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they schemed together against me,
They plotted to take away my life.