“Let darkness and black gloom claim it;
Let a cloud settle on it;
Let the blackness of the day terrify it.

Or with princes who had gold,
Who were filling their houses with silver.

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

“When a cloud vanishes, it is gone,
So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

“If one wished to dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

“Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

“For though I were right, I could not answer;
I would have to implore the mercy of my judge.

“If I called and He answered me,
I could not believe that He was listening to my voice.

That You should seek for my guilt
And search after my sin?

If I sin, then You would take note of me,
And would not acquit me of my guilt.

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

“For your guilt teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of the crafty.

“I too could speak like you,
If I were in your place.
I could compose words against you
And shake my head at you.

“I could strengthen you with my mouth,
And the solace of my lips could lessen your pain.

“The righteous see and are glad,
And the innocent mock them,

And place your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,

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

“But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

“They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.

“He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.

“He obscures the face of the full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.

“Surely there is a mine for silver
And a place where they refine gold.

“Its rocks are the source of sapphires,
And its dust contains gold.

“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.

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

“Terrors are turned against me;
They pursue my honor as the wind,
And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.

“I have made a covenant with my eyes;
How then could I gaze at a virgin?

What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

“If I have put my confidence in gold,
And called fine gold my trust,

‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

“They die in youth,
And their life perishes among the cult prostitutes.

“Out of the south comes the storm,
And out of the north the cold.

“Also with moisture He loads the thick cloud;
He disperses the cloud of His lightning.

“Do you know how God establishes them,
And makes the lightning of His cloud to shine?

When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,

Then all his brothers and all his sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him one piece of money, and each a ring of gold.