“Why did the knees receive me?
And why the breasts, that I would nurse?

“What strength do I have left, that I should wait [and hope]?
And what is ahead of me, that I should be patient and endure?

“What is man that You [should] magnify him [and think him important]?
And that You are concerned about him?

“And that You examine him every morning
And try and test him every moment?

“If one should want to contend or dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

“I am accounted wicked and held guilty;
Why then should I labor in vain [to appear innocent]?

“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,
That we may go to court and judgment together.

‘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?

‘I should have been as though I had not existed;
[I should have been] carried from the womb to the grave.’

“Shall a multitude of words not be answered?
And should a talkative man [making such a long-winded defense] be acquitted?

“Should your boasts and babble silence men?
And shall you scoff and no one put you to shame?

“Will it be well for you when He investigates you [and your tactics against me]?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

“Will not His majesty terrify you,
And will not the dread of Him fall upon you?

“Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
And put my life in my hands [incurring the wrath of God]?

“How many are my iniquities and sins [that so much sorrow should come to me]?
Make me recognize and understand my transgression and my sin.

“Should a wise man [such as you] utter such windy and vain knowledge [as we have just heard]
And fill himself with the east wind [of withering, parching, and violent accusations]?

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

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

“As for me, is my complaint to man or about him?
And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?

‘Who [and what] is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

“There the righteous and upright could reason with Him;
So I would be acquitted forever by my Judge.

“Far be it from me that I should admit you are right [in your accusations against me];
Until I die, I will not remove my integrity from me.

“For what is the portion I would have from God above,
And what heritage from the Almighty on high?

“I thought age should speak,
And a multitude of years should teach wisdom.

“Why do you complain against Him?
That He does not answer [you with] all His doings.

“For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
When he takes delight and is pleased with God and obeys Him.’

“Therefore hear me, you men of understanding.
Far be it from God that He would do wickedness,
And from the Almighty to do wrong.

“If God should determine to do so,
If He should gather to Himself [that is, withdraw from man] His [life-giving] spirit and His breath,

“Shall one who hates justice [and is an enemy of right] govern?
And will you condemn Him who is just and mighty?

“For He sets no appointed time for a man,
That he should appear before Him in judgment.

“Shall God’s retribution [for your sins] be on your terms, because you refuse to accept it?
For you must do the choosing, and not I;
Therefore say what you [truthfully] know.

“Who has first given to Me that I should repay him?
Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. [Who can have a claim against Me who made the unmastered beast?]