“But God saves [the innocent] from the sword of the mouth of the devious,
And the poor from the hand of the mighty.

“Oh, that my grief could actually be weighed
And placed in the balances together with my tragedy [to see if my grief is the grief of a coward]!

“Oh that my request would come to pass,
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

“How long will you say these things?
And will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
Who has [ever] defied or challenged Him and remained unharmed?

“If it is a matter of strength and power, behold, He is mighty!
And if of justice, who can summon and challenge Him?

“There is no arbitrator between us,
Who could lay his hand upon us both [would that there were].

“Let Him take His rod away from me,
And let not the dread and fear of Him terrify me.

“But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these [of God’s wisdom and might]?

“But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might;
He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.

“With Him are might and sound wisdom,
The misled and the misleader are His [and in His power].

“Oh, that you would be completely silent,
And that silence would be your wisdom!

“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]
Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.

“Why do the wicked still live,
Become old, and become mighty in power?

“Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might [even] come to His seat!

“Yet God draws away the mighty by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

“You have become harsh and cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You [keep me alive only to] persecute me.

“No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By cursing my enemy and asking for his life.

“Shall one who hates justice [and is an enemy of right] govern?
And will you condemn Him who is just and mighty?

“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.

“He breaks mighty men without inquiry,
And sets others in their place.

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

“Behold, God is mighty, and yet does not despise anyone [nor regard any as trivial];
He is mighty in the strength and power of understanding.

“For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth’;
And [He speaks] to the showers and to the downpour [of His mighty rains], ‘Be strong.’

“Have you given the horse his might?
Have you clothed his neck with quivering and a shaking mane?

“[If you can do all this, Job, proving your divine power] then I [God] will also praise you and acknowledge
That your own right hand can save you.

“I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,
Nor his mighty strength, nor his orderly frame.

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

“He looks on everything that is high [without terror];
He is monarch over all the sons of pride. [And now, Job, who are you who does not dare to disturb the beast, yet who dares resist Me, the beast’s creator? Everything under the heavens is Mine; therefore, who can have a claim against God?]”