But stretch out Your hand and strike everything he owns, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

But stretch out Your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.

May its morning stars grow dark.
May it wait for daylight but have none;
may it not see the breaking of dawn.

who wait for death, but it does not come,
and search for it more than for hidden treasure,

I sigh when food is put before me,
and my groans pour out like water.

But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

The lion may roar and the fierce lion growl,
but the fangs of young lions are broken.

A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a quiet voice:

I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.

But mankind is born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

For He crushes but also binds up;
He strikes, but His hands also heal.

How painful honest words can be!
But what does your rebuke prove?

But now, please look at me;
would I lie to your face?

When I lie down I think:
When will I get up?
But the evening drags on endlessly,
and I toss and turn until dawn.

Remember that my life is but a breath.
My eye will never again see anything good.

The eye of anyone who looks on me
will no longer see me.
Your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.

When I say: My bed will comfort me,
and my couch will ease my complaint,

You inspect him every morning,
and put him to the test every moment.

Why not forgive my sin
and pardon my transgression?
For soon I will lie down in the grave.
You will eagerly seek me, but I will be gone.

But if you earnestly seek God
and ask the Almighty for mercy,

since we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are but a shadow.

He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.
He grabs it, but it does not hold up.

Yes, I know what you’ve said is true,
but how can a person be justified before God?

He doesn’t let me catch my breath
but soaks me with bitter experiences.

then You dip me in a pit of mud,
and my own clothes despise me!

Then I would speak and not fear Him.
But that is not the case; I am on my own.

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I wish I had never existed
but had been carried from the womb to the grave.

Should your babbling put others to silence,
so that you can keep on ridiculing
with no one to humiliate you?

But if only God would speak
and declare His case against you,

But a stupid man will gain understanding
as soon as a wild donkey is born a man!

But the sight of the wicked will fail.
Their way of escape will be cut off,
and their only hope is their last breath.

But I also have a mind;
I am not inferior to you.
Who doesn’t know the things you are talking about?

But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

He releases the bonds put on by kings
and fastens a belt around their waists.

But you coat the truth with lies;
you are all worthless doctors.

Why do I put myself at risk
and take my life in my own hands?

You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles of my feet.

But a man dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?

For then You would count my steps
but would not take note of my sin.

But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,

But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before Him.

Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray,
for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.

If you were in my place I could also talk like you.
I could string words together against you
and shake my head at you.

I was at ease, but He shattered me;
He seized me by the scruff of the neck
and smashed me to pieces.
He set me up as His target;

Make arrangements! Put up security for me.
Who else will be my sponsor?

My eyes have grown dim from grief,
and my whole body has become but a shadow.

But come back and try again, all of you.
I will not find a wise man among you.

If I await Sheol as my home,
spread out my bed in darkness,

and say to corruption: You are my father,
and to the maggot: My mother or my sister,

The light in his tent grows dark,
and the lamp beside him is put out.

I cry out: “Violence!” but get no response;
I call for help, but there is no justice.

I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even if I beg him with my own mouth.

But I know my living Redeemer,
and He will stand on the dust at last.

His bones may be full of youthful vigor,
but will lie down with him in the grave.

though he cherishes it and will not let it go
but keeps it in his mouth,

He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;
God will force it from his stomach.

Look at me and shudder;
put your hand over your mouth.

But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
Does disaster come on them?
Does He apportion destruction in His anger?

But they both lie in the dust,
and worms cover them.

But it was He who filled their houses with good things.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him?
He does what He desires.

Without clothing, they wander about naked.
They carry sheaves but go hungry.

They crush olives in their presses;
they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.

He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it,
but His eyes watch over their ways.

These are but the fringes of His ways;
how faint is the word we hear of Him!
Who can understand His mighty thunder?

he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide up his silver.

He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, it is gone.

Food may come from the earth,
but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.

But where can wisdom be found,
and where is understanding located?

But God understands the way to wisdom,
and He knows its location.

But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.

I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
when I stand up, You merely look at me.

But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness came.

I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.
I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.

But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

But it is a spirit in man
and the breath of the Almighty
that give him understanding.

I paid close attention to you.
Yet no one proved Job wrong;
not one of you refuted his arguments.

But Job has not directed his argument to me,
and I will not respond to him with your arguments.

But now, Job, pay attention to my speech,
and listen to all my words.

But He finds reasons to oppose me;
He regards me as His enemy.

But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter,
since God is greater than man.

For God speaks time and again,
but a person may not notice it.

God spares his soul from the Pit,
his life from crossing the river of death.

A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain
and constant distress in his bones,

He draws near to the Pit,
and his life to the executioners.

and to be gracious to him and say,
“Spare him from going down to the Pit;
I have found a ransom,”

He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,
and I will continue to see the light.”

in order to turn him back from the Pit,
so he may shine with the light of life.

But if you have something to say, answer me;
speak, for I would like to justify you.

Who gave Him authority over the earth?
Who put Him in charge of the entire world?

If He put His mind to it
and withdrew the spirit and breath He gave,

but caused the poor to cry out to Him,
and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

But when God is silent, who can declare Him guilty?
When He hides His face, who can see Him?
Yet He watches over both individuals and nations,

But no one asks, “Where is God my Maker,
who provides us with songs in the night,

There they cry out, but He does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.

But now, because God’s anger does not punish
and He does not pay attention to transgression,

Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one;
He understands all things.

He does not keep the wicked alive,
but He gives justice to the afflicted.