I have refused to touch such things; they are like loathsome food to me.

Is my strength like that of stones? or is my flesh made of bronze?

For now you have become like these streams that are no help; you see a terror, and are afraid.

"Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?

Like a servant longing for the evening shadow, and like a hired man looking for his wages,

"How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind?

They glide by like reed boats, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.

For he is not a human being like I am, that I might answer him, that we might come together in judgment.

Are your days like the days of a mortal, or your years like the years of a mortal,

Did you not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese?

to the land of utter darkness, like the deepest darkness, and the deepest shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness."

For you will forget your trouble; you will remember it like water that has flowed away.

And life will be brighter than the noonday; though there be darkness, it will be like the morning.

They grope about in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.

So I waste away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.

He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.

Look away from him and let him desist, until he fulfills his time like a hired man.

at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth shoots like a new plant.

how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt, who drinks in evil like water!

Distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him like a king ready to launch an attack,

Like a vine he will let his sour grapes fall, and like an olive tree he will shed his blossoms.

"I have heard many things like these before. What miserable comforters are you all!

I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could pile up words against you and I could shake my head at you.

He breaks through against me, time and time again; he rushes against me like a warrior.

He tears me down on every side until I perish; he uproots my hope like one uproots a tree.

Why do you pursue me like God does? Will you never be satiated with my flesh?

he will perish forever, like his own excrement; those who used to see him will say, 'Where is he?'

Like a dream he flies away, never again to be found, and like a vision of the night he is put to flight.

They allow their children to run like a flock; their little ones dance about.

How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff swept away by a whirlwind?

But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.

Like wild donkeys in the desert they go out to their labor, seeking diligently for food; the wasteland provides food for them and for their children.

Before daybreak the murderer rises up; he kills the poor and the needy; in the night he is like a thief.

For all of them, the morning is to them like deep darkness; they are friends with the terrors of darkness.

The womb forgets him, the worm feasts on him, no longer will he be remembered. Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.

They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone, they are brought low like all others, and gathered in, and like a head of grain they are cut off.'

"May my enemy be like the wicked, my adversary like the unrighteous.

If he piles up silver like dust and stores up clothing like mounds of clay,

The house he builds is as fragile as a moth's cocoon, like a hut that a watchman has made.

Terrors overwhelm him like a flood; at night a whirlwind carries him off.

I put on righteousness and it clothed me, my just dealing was like a robe and a turban;

I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I lived like a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.

They were banished from the community -- people shouted at them like they would shout at thieves --

They brayed like animals among the bushes and were huddled together under the nettles.

Terrors are turned loose on me; they drive away my honor like the wind, and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away.

With great power God grasps my clothing; he binds me like the collar of my tunic.

but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father, and from my mother's womb I guided the widow!

Surely I would wear it proudly on my shoulder, I would bind it on me like a crown;

I would give him an accounting of my steps; like a prince I would approach him.

Inside I am like wine which has no outlet, like new wineskins ready to burst!

Look, I am just like you in relation to God; I too have been molded from clay.

then his flesh is restored like a youth's; he returns to the days of his youthful vigor.

What man is like Job, who drinks derision like water!

But Job will be tested to the end, because his answers are like those of wicked men.

Your wickedness affects only a person like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.

Indeed, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him?

Get ready for a difficult task like a man; I will question you and you will inform me!

The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features are dyed like a garment.

when the waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?

Do you make it leap like a locust? Its proud neighing is terrifying!

"Get ready for a difficult task like a man. I will question you and you will inform me!

Do you have an arm as powerful as God's, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

"Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like the ox.

It makes its tail stiff like a cedar, the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.

Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of iron.

Can you play with it, like a bird, or tie it on a leash for your girls?

Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the red glow of dawn.

Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones become like chaff to it.

Its underparts are the sharp points of potsherds, it leaves its mark in the mud like a threshing sledge.

It makes the deep boil like a cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment,

The likes of it is not on earth, a creature without fear.

He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off. He succeeds in everything he attempts.

Not so with the wicked! Instead they are like wind-driven chaff.

You will break them with an iron scepter; you will smash them like a potter's jar!'"

For they do not speak the truth; their stomachs are like the place of destruction, their throats like an open grave, their tongues like a steep slope leading into it.

Certainly you reward the godly, Lord. Like a shield you protect them in your good favor.

Otherwise they will rip me to shreds like a lion; they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me.

He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket; he lies in ambush, waiting to catch the oppressed; he catches the oppressed by pulling in his net.

For the music director; by David. In the Lord I have taken shelter. How can you say to me, "Flee to a mountain like a bird!

He does not charge interest when he lends his money. He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent. The one who lives like this will never be upended.

He is like a lion that wants to tear its prey to bits, like a young lion crouching in hidden places.

I grind them as fine windblown dust; I beat them underfoot like clay in the streets.

Like a bridegroom it emerges from its chamber; like a strong man it enjoys running its course.

You burn them up like a fiery furnace when you appear; the Lord angrily devours them; the fire consumes them.

They open their mouths to devour me like a roaring lion that rips its prey.

My strength drains away like water; all my bones are dislocated; my heart is like wax; it melts away inside me.

Yes, wild dogs surround me -- a gang of evil men crowd around me; like a lion they pin my hands and feet.

Deliver your people! Empower the nation that belongs to you! Care for them like a shepherd and carry them in your arms at all times!

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf and Sirion like a young ox.

I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about; I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.

Do not be like an unintelligent horse or mule, which will not obey you unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.

May they be like wind-driven chaff, as the Lord's angel attacks them!

Your justice is like the highest mountains, your fairness like the deepest sea; you preserve mankind and the animal kingdom.

For they will quickly dry up like grass, and wither away like plants.

I have seen ruthless evil men growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil.

For my sins overwhelm me; like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.

But I am like a deaf man -- I hear nothing; I am like a mute who cannot speak.

I am like a man who cannot hear and is incapable of arguing his defense.

You severely discipline people for their sins; like a moth you slowly devour their strength. Surely all people are a mere vapor. (Selah)

Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cry for help! Do not ignore my sobbing! For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land; I am at your mercy, just as all my ancestors were.