And if my head exalt itself, thou huntest me as a lion; And again thou showest thyself marvellous upon me.

Thou renewest thy witnesses before me and increasest thy displeasure against me; successions of evil and a time of toil are with me.

Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!

And for me to have been as if I had not been; to have been taken from my mother's body straight to my last resting-place.

Are not the days of my life small in number? Let your eyes be turned away from me, so that I may have a little pleasure,

Before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death;

A land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness.

Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?

Are your words of pride to make men keep quiet? and are you to make sport, with no one to put you to shame?

But if only God would speak
and declare His case against you,

And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.

“Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you [by searching] discover the limits of the Almighty [ascend to His heights, extend to His widths, and comprehend His infinite perfection]?

It is as the heights of heaven; what wilt thou do? deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know?

The measure of it is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.

If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can hinder him?

For he hath known men of vanity, And He seeth iniquity, And one doth not consider it!

But vain man is void of understanding, Yea, man is born as a wild ass's colt.

If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;

If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.

Then, indeed, you could lift up your face [to Him] without moral defect,
And you would be firmly established and secure and not fear.

Then should the residue of thy life be as clear as the noon day, and spring forth as the morning.

Sleeping with no fear of danger; and men will be desiring to have grace in your eyes;

But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

Of a truth, ye, are the people, and, with you, wisdom, will die.

“But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these [of God’s wisdom and might]?

I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who calleth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn.

He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.

The tabernacles of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this?

In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

“Does the ear not put words to the test,
Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]?

With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.

If he tears down, then it will not be rebuilt; if he shuts a man in, then he cannot be freed.

Look, [if] he withholds the water, then they dry up; and [if] he sends them out, then they overwhelm [the] land.

He leads counselors away stripped, and he makes fools of judges.

He looseth the bond of kings, and girdeth their loins with a girdle.

He leads priests away stripped, and he overthrows {the members of ancient families}.

He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged.

He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

Increasing nations, and sending destruction on them; making wide the lands of peoples, and then giving them up.

He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

Truly, my eye has seen all this, word of it has come to my ear, and I have knowledge of it.

Just as ye know, I too, know, I, fall not short, of you.

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

But ye are forgers of lies, ye are all physicians of no value.

If only you would shut up
and let that be your wisdom!

Hear now my reasoning, and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.

His face do ye accept, if for God ye strive?

Will it be well if he should search you out? or as one mocketh at a man, will ye mock at him?

He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons.

Shall not, his majesty, overwhelm you? and, the dread of him, fall upon you?

Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies to bodies of clay.

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

Behold, if he slay me, yet would I trust in him; but I will defend mine own ways before him.

Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.

Thy hand put far off from me, And Thy terror let not terrify me.

Then at the sound of your voice I will give answer; or let me put forward my cause for you to give me an answer.

What is the number of my evil-doings and my sins? give me knowledge of them.

“Why do You hide Your face [as if offended]
And consider me Your enemy?

“Will You cause a windblown leaf to tremble?
Will You pursue the chaff of the dry stubble?

For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.

Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.

Though a man comes to nothing like a bit of dead wood, or like a robe which has become food for the worm.

Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.

As a flower he hath gone forth, and is cut off, And he fleeth as a shadow and standeth not.

Do You really take notice of one like this?
Will You bring me into judgment against You?

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;

Look away from off him that he may cease, Till he enjoy as an hireling his day.

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

If its root becometh old in the earth, And its stem doth die in the dust,

Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

Yet, man, dieth, and is prostrate, Yea the son of earth doth cease to breathe, and where is he?

The floods when they be dried up, and the rivers when they be empty, are filled again through the flowing waters of the sea:

So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

O that in Sheol Thou wouldest conceal me, Hide me till the turning of Thine anger, Set for me a limit, and remember me.

If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.

“But now You number [each of] my steps;
You do not observe nor take note of my sin.

“My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover my wickedness [from Your view].

And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place.

The waters wear the stones: thou washest away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest the hope of man.

“You prevail forever against him and overpower him, and he passes on;
You change his appearance and send him away [from the presence of the living].

His sons come to honour, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.

“But his body [lamenting its decay] grieves in pain over it,
And his soul mourns over [the loss of] himself.”

“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]?

Reproving with words he shall not profit, and speeches will be of no use in them.

Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.

For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.

"Were you born the firstborn of the human race? And were you brought forth {before} [the] hills?

Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?

With us are men who are grey-haired and full of years, much older than your father.

Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?

That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?

What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

If God puts no trust in His holy ones
and the heavens are not pure in His sight,

what wise men declare, hiding nothing, from the tradition of their ancestors,