“Let those curse it who curse the day,
Who are prepared to rouse Leviathan.

With kings and with counselors of the earth,
Who rebuilt ruins for themselves;

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

“Why is light given to him who suffers,
And life to the bitter of soul,

Who long for death, but there is none,
And dig for it more than for hidden treasures,

Who rejoice greatly,
And exult when they find the grave?

“Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
And whom God has hedged in?

“If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient?
But who can refrain from speaking?

“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright destroyed?

“According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity
And those who sow trouble harvest it.

‘How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before the moth!

“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?
And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

Who does great and unsearchable things,
Wonders without number.

So that He sets on high those who are lowly,
And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

“Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

“As a slave who pants for the shade,
And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,

“The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;
Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.

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

“So are the paths of all who forget God;
And the hope of the godless will perish,

“Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
And the tent of the wicked will be no longer.”

“Wise in heart and mighty in strength,
Who has defied Him without harm?

“It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;

Who shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;

Who commands the sun not to shine,
And sets a seal upon the stars;

Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the waves of the sea;

Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;

Who does great things, unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.

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

“If it is a matter of power, behold, He is the strong one!
And if it is a matter of justice, who can summon Him?

“The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, then who is it?

“There is no umpire between us,
Who may lay his hand upon us both.

“If He passes by or shuts up,
Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?

“But I have intelligence as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
And who does not know such things as these?

“I am a joke to my friends,
The one who called on God and He answered him;
The just and blameless man is a joke.

“He who is at ease holds calamity in contempt,
As prepared for those whose feet slip.

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

“Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,

“Who will contend with me?
For then I would be silent and die.

“Man, who is born of woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

“Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!

“What is man, that he should be pure,
Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

How much less one who is detestable and corrupt,
Man, who drinks iniquity like water!

To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them.

“Lay down, now, a pledge for me with Yourself;
Who is there that will be my guarantor?

“He who informs against friends for a share of the spoil,
The eyes of his children also will languish.

“But He has made me a byword of the people,
And I am one at whom men spit.

“Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his way,
And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

Where now is my hope?
And who regards my hope?

“O you who tear yourself in your anger—
For your sake is the earth to be abandoned,
Or the rock to be moved from its place?

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

“Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger.
I am a foreigner in their sight.

Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!

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

“In the fullness of his plenty he will be cramped;
The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him.

‘Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And what would we gain if we entreat Him?’

“Who will confront him with his actions,
And who will repay him for what he has done?

Who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundations were washed away by a river?

“He will deliver one who is not innocent,
And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

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

“It is God who has made my heart faint,
And the Almighty who has dismayed me,

“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not see His days?

“Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.

“Drought and heat consume the snow waters,
So does Sheol those who have sinned.

“Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”

“Dominion and awe belong to Him
Who establishes peace in His heights.

“Is there any number to His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?

“How then can a man be just with God?
Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?

“To whom have you uttered words?
And whose spirit was expressed through you?

“Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”

“As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,

Because I delivered the poor who cried for help,
And the orphan who had no helper.

“I chose a way for them and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king among the troops,
As one who comforted the mourners.

“From want and famine they are gaunt
Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

Who pluck mallow by the bushes,
And whose food is the root of the broom shrub.

“Therefore my harp is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

“Is it not calamity to the unjust
And disaster to those who work iniquity?

“Did not He who made me in the womb make him,
And the same one fashion us in the womb?

“Have the men of my tent not said,
‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

“I even paid close attention to you;
Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job,
Not one of you who answered his words.

“Then his soul draws near to the pit,
And his life to those who bring death.

“Hear my words, you wise men,
And listen to me, you who know.

“What man is like Job,
Who drinks up derision like water,

Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity,
And walks with wicked men?

“Who gave Him authority over the earth?
And who has laid on Him the whole world?

“Shall one who hates justice rule?
And will you condemn the righteous mighty One,

Who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’
To nobles, ‘Wicked ones’;

Who shows no partiality to princes
Nor regards the rich above the poor,
For they all are the work of His hands?

When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?
And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him,
That is, in regard to both nation and man?—

“Men of understanding will say to me,
And a wise man who hears me,

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

Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth
And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’

“For truly my words are not false;
One who is perfect in knowledge is with you.

“Behold, God is exalted in His power;
Who is a teacher like Him?

“Who has appointed Him His way,
And who has said, ‘You have done wrong’?

“Therefore men fear Him;
He does not regard any who are wise of heart.”

“Who is this that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?

Who set its measurements? Since you know.
Or who stretched the line on it?

“On what were its bases sunk?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

“Or who enclosed the sea with doors
When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb;

“Who has cleft a channel for the flood,
Or a way for the thunderbolt,