But put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”

But put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh [and severely afflict him]; and he will curse You to Your face.”

But he said to her, “You speak as one of the [spiritually] foolish women speaks [ignorant and oblivious to God’s will]. Shall we indeed accept [only] good from God and not [also] accept adversity and disaster?” In [spite of] all this Job did not sin with [words from] his lips.

Who wait for death, but it does not come,
And dig (search) for death more [diligently] than for hidden treasures,

“But now adversity comes upon you, and you are impatient and intolerant;
It touches you, and you are horrified.

“The spirit stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, and then I heard a voice, saying:

“I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering],
But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

“For man is born for trouble,
[As naturally] as sparks fly upward.

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

“For He inflicts pain, but He binds up and gives relief;
He wounds, but His hands also heal.

Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
My spirit drinks their poison;
The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

“How painful are words of honesty.
But what does your argument prove?

“Do you intend to reprove my words [with a convincing argument],
When the words of one in despair belong to the wind [and go ignored]?

“Remember that my life is but breath [a puff of wind, a sigh];
My eye will not see good again.

“For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because our days on earth are [like] a shadow [just a breath or a vapor].

“He trusts in his house, but it does not stand;
He holds tightly to it, but it does not endure.

“If he is snatched from his place [in the garden],
Then his place will forget him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

“Yes, I know it is true.
But how can a mortal man be right before God?

“Behold, He passes by me, and I do not see Him;
He moves past me, but I do not perceive Him.

“He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills and saturates me with bitterness.

“It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.’

“Then I would speak [my defense] and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.

“But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips [to speak] against you,

“But a hollow (empty-headed) man will become intelligent and wise
[Only] when the colt of a wild donkey is born as a man.

“But the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And they will not escape [the justice of God];
And their hope is to breathe their last [and die].”

“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]?

“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,
But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

“The tents of the destroyers prosper;
And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure,
Whom God brings into their power.

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

“But you smear me with lies [you defame my character most untruthfully];
You are all worthless physicians and have no remedy to offer.

“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].

“But [the brave, strong] man must die and lie face down;
Man breathes his last, and where is he?

“But now You number [each of] my steps;
You do not observe nor take note of my sin.

“But as a mountain, if it falls, crumbles into nothing,
And as the rock is moved from its place,

“But his body [lamenting its decay] grieves in pain over it,
And his soul mourns over [the loss of] himself.”

What wise men have [freely] told,
And have not hidden [anything passed on to them] from their fathers,

“It will be fulfilled while he still lives,
And his branch will not be green [but shall wither away].

“[But instead] I could strengthen and encourage you with [the words of] my mouth,
And the consolation and solace of my lips would soothe your suffering and lessen your anguish.

“But now God has exhausted me.
You [O Lord] have destroyed all my family and my household.

“I was [living] at ease, but He crushed me and broke me apart,
And He has seized me by the neck and has shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target.

“My friends are scoffers [who ridicule];
My eye pours out tears to God.

“But You [Lord] have closed their hearts to understanding,
Therefore You will not exalt them [by giving a verdict against me].

“But He has made me a byword and mockery among the people,
And I have become one in whose face people spit.

“But as for all of you, come back again,
Even though I do not find a wise man among you.

“But if I look to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) as my home,
If I make my bed in the darkness,

“Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not heard;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.

“I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with words.

“I have heard the reproof which insults me,
But the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.

That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the godless is only for a moment?

“His bones are full of youthful strength
But it lies down with him in the dust.

Though he desires it and will not let it go
But holds it in his mouth,

“In the fullness of his excess (great abundance) he will be in trouble;
The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him [he is miserable on every side].

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

“But notice, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their hand (in their power);
The counsel of the wicked [and the mystery of God’s dealings with the ungodly] is far from my comprehension.

“But who will confront him with his actions and rebuke him face to face,
And who will repay him for what he has done?

“But the land is possessed by the man with power,
And the favored and honorable man dwells in it.

“Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked and ungodly is far from me.

“Behold, I go forward (to the east), but He is not there;
I go backward (to the west), but I cannot perceive Him;

To the left (north) He turns, but I cannot behold Him;
He turns to the right hand (south), but I cannot see Him.

“But He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it].
When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].

“But He is unique and unchangeable, and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.

“They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves [of grain] from the hungry.

“Within the walls [of the wicked] the poor make [olive] oil;
They tread [the grapes in] the wine presses, but thirst.

But Job answered and said,

“Yet these are just the fringes of His ways [mere samples of His power],
The faintest whisper of His voice!
Who can contemplate the thunder of His [full] mighty power?”

He may prepare it, but the just will wear it
And the innocent will divide the silver.

“He lies down rich, but never will again;
He opens his eyes, and it is gone.

“[As for] the earth, out of it comes food,
But underneath [its surface, down deep] it is turned over as fire.

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

“But to man He said, ‘Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord—that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

“But now those younger than I mock and laugh at me,
Whose fathers I refused to put with the sheepdogs of my flock.

“I cry to You for help, [Lord,] but You do not answer me;
I stand up, but You [only] gaze [indifferently] at me.

“When I expected good, then came evil [to me];
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

“I go about mourning without comfort [my skin blackened by disease, not by the heat of the sun];
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

(But from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father,
And from my mother’s womb I have been the widow’s guide),

“The stranger has not lodged in the street,
Because I have opened my door to the traveler.

So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes [and could not be persuaded otherwise by them].

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he burned with anger.

“But there is [a vital force and] a spirit [of intelligence] in man,
And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

“And shall I wait, because they say nothing,
But stand still and say no more?

‘Behold, God finds pretexts against me;
He counts me as His enemy.

“For God speaks once,
And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job].

“For Job has said, ‘I am righteous [and innocent],
But God has taken away my right;

“Your wickedness affects only a man such as you,
And your righteousness affects only a son of man [but it cannot affect God, who is sovereign].

“But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
Who gives songs [of rejoicing] in the night,

“The people cry out, but He does not answer
Because of the pride of evil men.

“And now, because He has not [quickly] punished in His anger,
Nor has He acknowledged transgression and arrogance well [and seems unaware of the wrong of which a person is guilty],

“He does not prolong the life of the wicked,
But gives the afflicted their justice.

“He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous [those in right standing with Him];
But with kings upon the throne
He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

“But if they do not hear and obey, they will die by the sword [of God’s destructive judgments]
And they will die [in ignorance] without [true] knowledge.

“But the godless in heart store up anger [at the divine discipline];
They do not cry [to Him] for help when He binds them [with cords of affliction].

“But you [Job] were full of judgment on the wicked,
Judgment and justice take hold of you.

“Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds
Or the thundering of His pavilion?

“The [flightless] wings of the ostrich wave joyously;
With the pinion (shackles, fetters) and plumage of love,

“I have spoken once, but I will not reply again—
Indeed, twice [I have answered], and I will add nothing further.”

“I had heard of You [only] by the hearing of the ear,
But now my [spiritual] eye sees You.