And Job took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself, and he sat [down] among the ashes (rubbish heaps).

“Let the day on which I was born perish,
And the night which announced: ‘There is a man-child conceived.’

“For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me,
And that of which I am afraid has come upon me.

Dread and trembling came upon me,
Which made all my bones shake.

“Call now —is there anyone who will answer you?
And to which of the holy ones (angels) will you turn?

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

“Can something that has no taste to it be eaten without salt?
Or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?

“I wish that it would please God to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off.

Which are dull and dirty because of ice,
And into which the snow melts and hides itself;

“The paths of their course wind along,
They go up into nothing and perish.
[Your counsel is as helpful to me as a dry streambed in the heat of summer.]

“Am I the sea, or the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?

“Inquire, please, of past generations,
And consider and apply yourself to the things searched out by their fathers.

“If I were to wash myself with snow
And cleanse my hands with lye,

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]
That the hand of the Lord has done this,

“But I wish to speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.

“You also put my feet in the stocks [as punishment]
And [critically] observe all my paths;
You set a circle and limit around the soles of my feet [which I must not overstep],

“[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.

Water wears away the stones,
Its floods and torrents wash away the soil of the earth,
So You [O Lord] destroy the hope of man.

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

“Should he rebuke and argue with useless talk?
Or with words in which there is no benefit?

“Are the consolations of God [as we have interpreted them to you] too trivial for you,
[Or] were we too gentle toward you [in our first speech] to be effective?

How much less [pure and clean is] the one who is repulsive and corrupt,
Man, who drinks unrighteousness and injustice like water!

“I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;

And he has lived in desolate [God-forsaken] cities,
In houses which no one should inhabit,
Which were destined to become heaps [of ruins];

“You have taken a firm hold on me and have shriveled me up,
It has become a witness [against me];
And my leanness [and infirmity] rises up [as evidence] against me,
It testifies to my face [about my guilt].

“For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way of no return.

“The vigorous stride will be shortened,
And his own counsel and the scheme [in which he trusted] will bring his downfall.

“He is torn from his tent which he trusted [for safety],
And he is marched and brought to the king of terrors (death).

“Nothing of his dwells in his tent;
Brimstone (burning sulfur) is scattered over his dwelling [to purify it].

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

“The eye which saw him sees him no longer,
Neither does his [accustomed] place behold him any longer.

“He sucks the poison of vipers [which ill-gotten wealth contains];
The viper’s tongue slays him.

“He gives back what he has labored for and attained
And cannot swallow it [down to enjoy it];
As to the riches of his labor,
He cannot even enjoy them.

“For he has oppressed and neglected the poor;
He has violently taken away houses which he did not build.

“Because he knew no quietness or calm within him [because of his greed],
He does not retain anything he desires.

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

“For you say, ‘Where is the house of the noble man?
And where is the tent, the dwelling place of the wicked?’

“When he is carried to his grave,
A guard will keep watch over his tomb.

‘Surely our adversaries are cut off and destroyed,
And fire has consumed their abundance.’

“For He performs what is planned (appointed) for me,
And He is mindful of many such things.

“A mother will forget him;
The worm feeds on him until he is no longer remembered.
And wickedness will be broken like a tree [which cannot be restored].

“He wraps the waters in His clouds [which otherwise would spill on earth all at once],
And the cloud does not burst under them.

“I will teach you regarding the hand (power) of God;
I will not conceal what is with the Almighty [God’s actual treatment of the wicked].

“This [which I am about to explain] is the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants and oppressors receive from the Almighty:

“He builds his house like a spider’s web,
Like a (temporary) hut which a watchman makes.

“Its stones are the bed of sapphires;
It holds dust of gold.

“I am a brother to [howling] jackals,
And a companion to ostriches [which scream dismally].

“For it is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (destruction, ruin, final torment);
And [illicit passion] would burn and rage and uproot all my [life’s] increase [destroying everything].

“The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life [which inspires me].

“He sings out to other men,
‘I have sinned and perverted that which was right,
And it was not proper for me!

“Let us choose for ourselves that which is right;
Let us know among ourselves what is good.

“Look to the heavens and see;
And behold the skies which are [much] higher than you.

“Surely God will not listen to an empty cry [which lacks trust],
Nor will the Almighty regard it.

“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],

“Then indeed, He enticed you from the mouth of distress and confinement,
Into a broad place where there is no constraint or distress;
And that which was set on your table was full of fatness (rich food).

“Remember that you should magnify God’s work,
Of which men have sung.

“For He draws up the drops of water,
They distill rain from the mist,

Which the clouds pour down,
They drop abundantly upon mankind.”

“God thunders marvelously with His voice;
He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

“Can you, with Him, spread out the sky,
Strong as a molten mirror?

“So shall it be told Him that I wish to speak?
Or should a man say that he would be swallowed up [and destroyed by God]?

“The earth is changed like clay into which a seal is pressed;
And the things [of the earth] stand out like a [multi-colored] garment.

Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?

“Who sent out the wild donkey free [from dependence on man]?
And who has loosed the bonds of the wild donkey [to survive in the wild],

“Behold now, Behemoth, which I created as well as you;
He eats grass like an ox.

“Can anyone capture him when he is on watch,
Or pierce his nose with barbs [to trap him]?

“[You said to me] ‘Who is this that darkens and obscures counsel [by words] without knowledge?’
Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.