“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,
But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

“He removes intelligence and understanding from the leaders of the people of the earth
And makes them wander and move blindly in a pathless waste.

“For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].

“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?

Although there is no violence or wrongdoing in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.

“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]
Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.

“Surely there are mockers and mockery with me,
And my eye gazes on their obstinacy and provocation.

“Give me a pledge (guarantee, promise) with Yourself [acknowledge my innocence before my death];
Who is there that will be my guarantor and give security for me?

“Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)?
Shall we go down together in the dust?”

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

“Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not heard;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.

“Then beware and be afraid of the sword [of divine vengeance] for yourselves,
For wrathful are the punishments of that sword,
So that you may know there is judgment.”

“There is nothing left of what he devoured;
Therefore his prosperity does not endure.

Complete darkness (misfortune) is held in reserve for his treasures.
An unfanned fire will devour him;
It will consume the survivor in his tent.

“How then can you vainly comfort me with empty words,
Since your answers remain untrue?”

“Is not your wickedness great,
And your sins without end?

“When you are cast down and humbled, you will speak with confidence,
And the humble person He will lift up and save.

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

“Behold, I go forward (to the east), but He is not there;
I go backward (to the west), but I cannot perceive Him;

“Is there any number to His [vast celestial] armies?
And upon whom does His light not rise?

“Surely there is a mine for silver,
And a place where they refine gold.

“[As for] the earth, out of it comes food,
But underneath [its surface, down deep] it is turned over as fire.

“When I expected good, then came evil [to me];
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes [and could not be persuaded otherwise by them].

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouths of these three men, he burned with anger.

“But there is [a vital force and] a spirit [of intelligence] in man,
And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

‘I am pure, without transgression;
I am innocent and there is no guilt in me.

“If there is an angel as a mediator for him,
One out of a thousand,
To explain to a man what is right for him [that is, how to be in right standing with God],

“There is no darkness nor deep shadow
Where the evildoers may hide themselves.

So that godless men would not rule
Nor be snares for the people.

“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).

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

“His young ones suck up blood;
And where the slain are, there is he.”

“Upon earth there is nothing like him—no equal exists,
A creature made without fear.

Then all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him over all the [distressing] adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a piece of money, and each a ring of gold.

In all the land there were found no women so fair as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

Many are saying of me,
“There is no help [no salvation] for him in God.” Selah.

For there is nothing trustworthy or reliable or truthful in what they say;
Their heart is destruction [just a treacherous chasm, a yawning gulf of lies].
Their throat is an open grave;
They [glibly] flatter with their [silken] tongue.

For in death there is no mention of You;
In Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) who will praise You and give You thanks?

So that my enemy will not tear me like a lion,
Dragging me away while there is no one to rescue [me].

O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is injustice in my hands,

The wicked, in the haughtiness of his face, will not seek nor inquire for Him;
All his thoughts are, “There is no God [so there is no accountability or punishment].”

The [spiritually ignorant] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed repulsive and unspeakable deeds;
There is no one who does good.

The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the children of men
To see if there are any who understand (act wisely),
Who [truly] seek after God, [longing for His wisdom and guidance].

They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

There they tremble with great fear,
For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.

Out of the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.

They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
Even to the Lord [they cried], but He did not answer them.

There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.

Moreover, by them Your servant is warned [reminded, illuminated, and instructed];
In keeping them there is great reward.

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near;
And there is no one to help.

“What profit is there in my blood (death), if I go down to the pit (grave)?
Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness [to man]?

Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute wickedness,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

O [reverently] fear the Lord, you His saints (believers, holy ones);
For to those who fear Him there is no want.

Transgression speaks [like an oracle] to the wicked (godless) [deep] within his heart;
There is no fear (dread) of God before his eyes.

There those who [are perverse and] do evil have fallen;
They have been thrust down and cannot rise.

Mark the blameless man [who is spiritually complete], and behold the upright [who walks in moral integrity];
There is a [good] future for the man of peace [because a life of honor blesses one’s descendants].

There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation;
There is no health in my bones because of my sin.

For my sides are filled with burning,
And there is no health in my flesh.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

Panic seized them there,
And pain, as that of a woman in childbirth.

“Now consider this, you who forget God,
Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to rescue [you].

The [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt and evil, and have committed repulsive injustice;
There is no one who does good.

God has looked down from heaven upon the children of men
To see if there is anyone who understands,
Who seeks after God [who requires Him, who longs for Him as essential to life].

Every one of them has turned aside and fallen away;
Together they have become filthy and corrupt;
There is no one who does good, no, not even one.

There they were, in great terror and dread, where there had been no terror or dread;
For God scattered the bones of him who besieged you;
You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.

God will hear and humble them,
Even He who sits enthroned from old— Selah.
Because in them there has been no change [of heart],
And they do not fear God [at all].

Men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely there is a God who judges on the earth.”

They run and set themselves against me though there is no guilt in me;
Stir Yourself to meet and help me, and see [what they are doing]!

He turned the sea into dry land;
They crossed through the river on foot;
There we rejoiced in Him.

You have ascended on high, You have led away captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even from the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there.

The youngest is there, Benjamin, ruling them,
The princes of Judah and their company [the southern tribes],
The princes of Zebulun and the princes of Naphtali [the northern tribes].

I have sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, where a flood overwhelms me.

Reproach and insults have broken my heart and I am so sick.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for comforters, but I found none.

For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah,
That His servants may remain there and possess it.

Saying, “God has abandoned him;
Pursue and seize him, for there is no one to rescue him.”

In his days may the righteous flourish,
And peace abound until the moon is no more.

There will be an abundance of grain in the soil on the top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like [the cedars of] Lebanon,
And those of the city will flourish like grass of the earth.

They say, “How does God know?
Is there knowledge [of us] with the Most High?”

We do not see our symbols;
There is no longer any prophet [to guide us],
Nor does any among us know for how long.

For a cup [of His wrath] is in the hand of the Lord, and the wine foams;
It is well mixed and fully spiced, and He pours out from it;
And all the wicked of the earth must drain it and drink down to its dregs.

There He broke the flaming arrows,
The shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah.

They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.

“Let there be no strange god among you,
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord,
Nor are there any works [of wonder and majesty] like Yours.

“I will mention Rahab (Egypt) and Babylon among those who know Me—
Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia (Cush)—
‘This one was born there.’”

The Lord will count, when He registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah.

No evil will befall you,
Nor will any plague come near your tent.

[They are living memorials] to declare that the Lord is upright and faithful [to His promises];
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

If the Lord had not been my help,
I would soon have dwelt in [the land of] silence.

They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst there.

There the ships [of the sea] sail,
And Leviathan [the sea monster], which You have formed to play there.

There the Lord greatly increased [the number of] His people,
And made them more powerful than their enemies.

He spoke, and there came swarms of flies
And gnats in all their territory.

He brought the sons of Israel out [of Egypt] with silver and gold,
And among their tribes there was not one who stumbled.

Therefore He humbled their heart with hard labor;
They stumbled and there was no one to help.

And there He has the hungry dwell,
So that they may establish an inhabited city,

He pours contempt on princes
And makes them wander in a pathless wasteland.