He said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

“Let the day perish on which I was to be born,
And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’

“May that day be darkness;
Let not God above care for it,
Nor light shine on it.

“Behold, let that night be barren;
Let no joyful shout enter it.

“Let the stars of its twilight be darkened;
Let it wait for light but have none,
And let it not see the breaking dawn;

“Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be,
As infants that never saw light.

“By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.

“Then a spirit passed by my face;
The hair of my flesh bristled up.

‘Can mankind be just before God?
Can a man be pure before his Maker?

“He captures the wise by their own shrewdness,
And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

“By day they meet with darkness,
And grope at noon as in the night.

“You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

“You will laugh at violence and famine,
And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.

“For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

“You will know also that your descendants will be many,
And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

“For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;
Therefore my words have been rash.

“Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty.

“Teach me, and I will be silent;
And show me how I have erred.

“Desist now, let there be no injustice;
Even desist, my righteousness is yet in it.

“The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;
Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.

Then You frighten me with dreams
And terrify me by visions;

“Why then do You not pardon my transgression
And take away my iniquity?
For now I will lie down in the dust;
And You will seek me, but I will not be.”

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

“Please inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

“Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
And the tent of the wicked will be no longer.”

“In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a man be in the right before God?

“Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

“They slip by like reed boats,
Like an eagle that swoops on its prey.

“Though I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad countenance and be cheerful,’

‘Should my head be lifted up, You would hunt me like a lion;
And again You would show Your power against me.

“Shall a multitude of words go unanswered,
And a talkative man be acquitted?

“If He passes by or shuts up,
Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?

“Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral defect,
And you would be steadfast and not fear.

“For you would forget your trouble,
As waters that have passed by, you would remember it.

“Your life would be brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.

“But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And there will be no escape for them;
And their hope is to breathe their last.”

“Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

“O that you would be completely silent,
And that it would become your wisdom!

“Will it be well when He examines you?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

“Be silent before me so that I may speak;
Then let come on me what may.

“This also will be my salvation,
For a godless man may not come before His presence.

“Behold now, I have prepared my case;
I know that I will be vindicated.

“Who will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.

So man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.

“Were you the first man to be born,
Or were you brought forth before the hills?

“What is man, that he should be pure,
Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

“He will not escape from darkness;
The flame will wither his shoots,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

“Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his reward.

“It will be accomplished before his time,
And his palm branch will not be green.

“I was at ease, but He shattered me,
And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target.

“O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no resting place for my cry.

“Lay down, now, a pledge for me with Yourself;
Who is there that will be my guarantor?

“The upright will be appalled at this,
And the innocent will stir up himself against the godless.

“O you who tear yourself in your anger—
For your sake is the earth to be abandoned,
Or the rock to be moved from its place?

“For he is thrown into the net by his own feet,
And he steps on the webbing.

“A snare seizes him by the heel,
And a trap snaps shut on him.

“His skin is devoured by disease,
The firstborn of death devours his limbs.

“My bone clings to my skin and my flesh,
And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.

“Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves,
For wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
So that you may know there is judgment.”

“In the fullness of his plenty he will be cramped;
The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.

“He may flee from the iron weapon,
But the bronze bow will pierce him.

“This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
Even the heritage decreed to him by God.”

“Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your way of consolation.

“As for me, is my complaint to man?
And why should I not be impatient?

“Look at me, and be astonished,
And put your hand over your mouth.

“Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plans by which you would wrong me.

“For the wicked is reserved for the day of calamity;
They will be led forth at the day of fury.

“Can a vigorous man be of use to God,
Or a wise man be useful to himself?

Who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundations were washed away by a river?

“Yield now and be at peace with Him;
Thereby good will come to you.

“If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent,

Then the Almighty will be your gold
And choice silver to you.

“You will pray to Him, and He will hear you;
And you will pay your vows.

“You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
And light will shine on your ways.

“He will deliver one who is not innocent,
And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

“Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power?
No, surely He would pay attention to me.

“There the upright would reason with Him;
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

“Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;
When I consider, I am terrified of Him.

But I am not silenced by the darkness,
Nor deep gloom which covers me.

“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not see His days?

“From the city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not pay attention to folly.

“In the dark they dig into houses,
They shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.

“A mother will forget him;
The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered.
And wickedness will be broken like a tree.

“But He drags off the valiant by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

“How then can a man be just with God?
Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?

“He quieted the sea with His power,
And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.

“By His breath the heavens are cleared;
His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.

“Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

“May my enemy be as the wicked
And my opponent as the unjust.

“Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

“His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And their widows will not be able to weep.

“He sinks a shaft far from habitation,
Forgotten by the foot;
They hang and swing to and fro far from men.

“But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding?

“Pure gold cannot be given in exchange for it,
Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

“It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
In precious onyx, or sapphire.

“Gold or glass cannot equal it,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

“Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.

“The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

“When He imparted weight to the wind
And meted out the waters by measure,