Haven’t You placed a hedge around him, his household, and everything he owns? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.

Let those who curse certain days
cast a spell on it,
those who are skilled in rousing Leviathan.

The captives are completely at ease;
they do not hear the voice of their oppressor.

Both small and great are there,
and the slave is set free from his master.

who are filled with much joy
and are glad when they reach the grave?

Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?

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.

The strong lion dies if it catches no prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

how much more those who dwell in clay houses,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth!

They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.

Are their tent cords not pulled up?
They die without wisdom.

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His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them.

He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety.

He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end.

For then it would outweigh the sand of the seas!
That is why my words are rash.

Surely the arrows of the Almighty have pierced me;
my spirit drinks their poison.
God’s terrors are arrayed against me.

I refuse to touch them;
they are like contaminated food.

My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow

They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.
When they arrive there, they are frustrated.

So this is what you have now become to me.
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.

Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?

Isn’t mankind consigned to forced labor on earth?
Are not his days like those of a hired hand?

I give up! I will not live forever.
Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.

How long will you go on saying these things?
Your words are a blast of wind.

if you are pure and upright,
then He will move even now on your behalf
and restore the home where your righteousness dwells.

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

His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.
He looks for a home among the stones.

If He snatches something, who can stop Him?
Who can ask Him, “What are You doing?”

Are Your days like those of a human,
or Your years like those of a man,

Are my days not few? Stop it!
Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little

They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than Sheol—what can you know?

Surely He knows which people are worthless.
If He sees iniquity, will He not take note of it?

No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!

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

The one who is at ease holds calamity in contempt
and thinks it is prepared for those whose feet are slipping.

The tents of robbers are safe,
and those who provoke God are secure;
God’s power provides this.

Wisdom and strength belong to God;
counsel and understanding are His.

True wisdom and power belong to Him.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.

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

Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ash;
your defenses are made of clay.

Since man’s days are determined
and the number of his months depends on You,
and since You have set limits he cannot pass,

so man lies down never to rise again.
They will not wake up until the heavens are no more;
they will not stir from their sleep.

Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us,
men older than your father.

Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
even the words that deal gently with you?

If God puts no trust in His holy ones
and the heavens are not pure in His sight,

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;
only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

I have heard many things like these.
You are all miserable comforters.

although my hands are free from violence
and my prayer is pure.

My spirit is broken.
My days are extinguished.
A graveyard awaits me.

The upright are appalled at this,
and the innocent are roused against the godless.

Yet the righteous person will hold to his way,
and the one whose hands are clean will grow stronger.

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

Why are we regarded as cattle,
as stupid in your sight?

Parts of his skin are eaten away;
death’s firstborn consumes his limbs.

Those in the west are appalled at his fate,
while those in the east tremble in horror.

Their children are established while they are still alive,
and their descendants, before their eyes.

Their homes are secure and free of fear;
no rod from God strikes them.

Are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff a storm sweeps away?

His body is well fed,
and his bones are full of marrow.

For you say, “Where now is the nobleman’s house?”
and “Where are the tents the wicked lived in?”

The dirt on his grave is sweet to him.
Everyone follows behind him,
and those who go before him are without number.

So how can you offer me such futile comfort?
Your answers are deceptive.

Does it delight the Almighty if you are righteous?
Does He profit if you perfect your behavior?

Isn’t your wickedness abundant
and aren’t your iniquities endless?

Isn’t God as high as the heavens?
And look at the highest stars—how lofty they are!

“Surely our opponents are destroyed,
and fire has consumed what they left behind.”

When others are humiliated and you say, “Lift them up,”
God will save the humble.

They push the needy off the road;
the poor of the land are forced into hiding.

The wicked are those who rebel against the light.
They do not recognize its ways
or stay on its paths.

For the morning is like darkness to them.
Surely they are familiar with the terrors of darkness!

The womb forgets them;
worms feed on them;
they are remembered no more.
So injustice is broken like a tree.

They are exalted for a moment, then they are gone;
they are brought low and shrivel up like everything else.
They wither like heads of grain.

If even the moon does not shine
and the stars are not pure in His sight,

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

I will never affirm that you are right.
I will maintain my integrity until I die.

Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword;
his descendants will never have enough food.

Its rocks are a source of sapphire,
containing flecks of gold.

Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning.
The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.

They are living on the slopes of the wadis,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.

Terrors are turned loose against me;
they chase my dignity away like the wind,
and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.

then let thorns grow instead of wheat
and stinkweed instead of barley.

The words of Job are concluded.

So Elihu son of Barachel the Buzite replied:

I am young in years,
while you are old;
therefore I was timid and afraid
to tell you what I know.

It is not only the old who are wise
or the elderly who understand how to judge.

Job’s friends are dismayed and can no longer answer;
words have left them.

Should I continue to wait now that they are silent,
now that they stand there and no longer answer?

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

God is not partial to princes
and does not favor the rich over the poor,
for they are all the work of His hands.

They die suddenly in the middle of the night;
people shudder, then pass away.
Even the mighty are removed without effort.

Therefore, He recognizes their deeds
and overthrows them by night, and they are crushed.

“Job speaks without knowledge;
his words are without insight.”

If only Job were tested to the limit,
because his answers are like those of wicked men.

If you are righteous, what do you give Him,
or what does He receive from your hand?

how much less when you complain
that you do not see Him,
that your case is before Him
and you are waiting for Him.

For my arguments are without flaw;
one who has perfect knowledge is with you.

He does not remove His gaze from the righteous,
but He seats them forever with enthroned kings,
and they are exalted.

If people are bound with chains
and trapped by the cords of affliction,

Yet now you are obsessed with the judgment due the wicked;
judgment and justice have seized you.

Ice is formed by the breath of God,
and watery expanses are frozen.

Therefore, men fear Him.
He does not look favorably on any who are wise in heart.