“As I have seen, those who plow wickedness
And those who sow trouble and harm harvest it.

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

“As for me, I would seek God and inquire of Him,
And I would commit my cause to God;

“Oh, that my grief could actually be weighed
And placed in the balances together with my tragedy [to see if my grief is the grief of a coward]!

“Indeed, you have now become like a dried-up stream,
You see a terror [believing me to be a victim of the wrath of God] and are afraid [to be compassionate].

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

“The eye of him who sees me [now] will see me no more;
Your eyes will be upon me, but I will not be.

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

“If you would [diligently] seek God
And implore the compassion and favor of the Almighty,

“His [godless] roots are wrapped around a pile of rocks,
And he gazes at a house of stones.

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

“Behold, this is the joy of His way;
And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place].

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

“Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They vanish, they see no good.

‘Does it indeed seem right to You to oppress,
To despise and reject the work of Your hands,
And to look with favor on the schemes of the wicked?

‘Do You have eyes of flesh?
Do You see as a man sees?

‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb?
Would that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

“For He recognizes and knows false and worthless men,
And He sees wickedness, will He not consider it?

[Job continued:] “Behold, my eye has seen all this,
My ear has heard and understood it.

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

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

Where now is my hope?
And who regards or considers or is even concerned about my hope?

“Even after my [mortal] skin is destroyed [by death],
Yet from my [immortal] flesh I will see God,

Whom I, even I, will see for myself,
And my eyes will see Him and not another!
My heart faints within me.

Yet he perishes forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

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

“Let his own eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

Or darkness, so that you cannot see,
And a flood of water covers you.

‘Thick clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks on the vault (circle) of the heavens.’

“The righteous see it and are glad;
And the innocent mock and laugh at them, saying,

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

“Why does the Almighty not set seasons for judgment?
Why do those who know Him not see His days [for punishment of the wicked]?

“The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me,’
And he covers his face.

“Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you act vainly and foolishly [cherishing worthless concepts]?

“The path [deep within] no bird of prey knows,
And the falcon’s eye has not caught sight of it.

“He cuts out channels and passages among the rocks;
And his eye sees every precious thing.

“For He looks to the ends of the earth
And sees everything under the heavens.

“Does not God see my ways
And count all my steps?

If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor person without covering,

“You see, I waited for your words,
I listened to your [wise] reasons,
While you pondered and searched out what to say.

“Behold, I will not make you afraid or terrified of me [for I am only mortal and not God],
Nor should any pressure from me weigh heavily upon you.

“His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,
And his bones which were not seen now stick out.

“He will pray to God, and He shall be favorable to him,
So that he looks at His face with joy;
For God restores to man His righteousness [that is, his right standing with God—with its joys].

‘God has redeemed my life from going to the pit [of destruction],
And my life shall see the light.’”

“For God’s eyes are on the ways of a man,
And He sees all his steps.

Teach me what I do not see [in regard to how I have sinned];
If I have done wrong (injustice, unrighteousness),
I will not do it again’?

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

“Even though you say that you do not see Him [when missing His righteous judgment on earth],
Yet your case is before Him, and you must wait for Him!

“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

“Will you have faith and depend on him to return your grain
And gather it from your threshing floor?

“From there he spies out the prey;
His eyes see it from far away.

“See now, his strength is in his loins
And his power is in the muscles and sinews of his belly.

“[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.

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