For though I were righteous, I could not answer.
I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge.

‘If I am wicked, woe to me [for judgment comes]!
And if I am righteous, I dare not lift up my head.
For I am sated and filled with disgrace and the sight of my misery.

“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],

“But [the brave, strong] man must die and lie face down;
Man breathes his last, and where is he?

“They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves [of grain] from the hungry.

“They must dwell on the slopes of wadis
And in holes in the ground and in rocks.

“I must speak so that I may get relief;
I will open my lips and answer.

“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.

“You [must] know, since you were born then,
And because you are so extremely old!