“They are the sons of [worthless and nameless] fools,
They have been driven out of the land.

“And now I have become [the subject of] their taunting;
Yes, I am a byword and a laughingstock to them.

“For God has loosed His bowstring [attacking me] and [He has] afflicted and humbled me;
They have cast off the bridle [of restraint] before me.

“They break up and clutter my path [upsetting my plans],
They profit from my destruction;
No one restrains them.

“And now my soul is poured out within me;
The days of affliction have seized me.

“God has cast me into the mire [a swampland of crisis],
And I have become [worthless] like dust and ashes.

“You have become harsh and cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You [keep me alive only to] persecute me.

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

“If I have walked with falsehood,
Or if my foot has chased after deceit,

“If my heart has been enticed and I was made a fool by a woman,
Or if I have [covetously] lurked at my neighbor’s door [until his departure],

“If I have despised and rejected the claim of my male or female servants
When they filed a complaint against me,

“If I have withheld from the poor what they desired,
Or have caused the eyes of the widow to look in vain [for relief],

Or have eaten my morsel [of food] alone,
And did not share it with the orphan

(But from my youth the orphan grew up with me as with a father,
And from my mother’s womb I have been the widow’s guide),

If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
Or any poor person without covering,

If his loins have not thanked and blessed me [for clothing them],
And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

If I have lifted my hand against the orphan,
Because I saw [that the judges would be] my help at the [council] gate,

“If I have put my trust and confidence in gold,
Or have declared fine gold my hope and assurance,

This also would have been [a heinous] sin calling for judgment,
For I would have denied God above.

“No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By cursing my enemy and asking for his life.

“The stranger has not lodged in the street,
Because I have opened my door to the traveler.

“Have I concealed my transgressions like Adam or like other men,
By hiding my wickedness in my bosom,

“For if my land has cried out against me,
And its furrows weep together;

If I have eaten its fruits without paying for them,
Or have caused its [rightful] owners to lose their lives,

“Beware if you say,
‘We have found wisdom;
God thrusts Job down [justly], not man [for God alone is dealing with him].’

“Now Job has not directed his words against me [therefore I have no reason to be offended],
Nor will I answer him with arguments like yours. [I speak for truth, not for revenge.]

“They (Job’s friends) are dismayed and embarrassed, they no longer answer;
The words have moved away and failed them,” [says Elihu].

“However, Job, please listen to my words,
And pay attention to everything I say.

“Surely you have spoken in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your words, saying:

Then the angel is gracious to him, and says,
‘Spare him from going down to the pit [of destruction];
I have found a ransom [a consideration, or reason for redemption, an atonement]!’

“He sings out to other men,
‘I have sinned and perverted that which was right,
And it was not proper for me!

“If you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I desire to justify you.

“If not [and you have nothing to say], listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

“Hear my words, you wise men,
And listen to me, you who have [so much] knowledge.

“If you now have understanding, hear this;
Listen to the sound of my words.

“For has anyone said to God,
‘I have endured my chastisement;
I will not offend anymore;

Teach me what I do not see [in regard to how I have sinned];
If I have done wrong (injustice, unrighteousness),
I will not do it again’?

“For you say, ‘What advantage have you [by living a righteous life]?
What profit will I have, more [by being righteous] than if I had sinned?’

“If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your transgressions are multiplied, what have you done to Him?

Job uselessly opens his mouth
And multiplies words without knowledge [drawing the worthless conclusion that the righteous have no more advantage than the wicked].”

“Bear with me a little longer, and I will show you,
That there is yet more to say on God’s behalf.

Then He declares to them [the true character of] their deeds
And their transgressions, that they have acted arrogantly [with presumption and notions of self-sufficiency].

“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).

“Take heed and be careful, do not turn to wickedness,
For you have chosen this [the vice of complaining against God] rather than [learning from] affliction.

“Who has appointed God His way,
And who can say [to Him], ‘You have done wrong’?

“Remember that you should magnify God’s work,
Of which men have sung.

“All men have seen God’s work;
Man looks at it from a distance.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know and have understanding.

“Since your days began, have you ever commanded the morning,
And caused the dawn to know its place,

“Have you entered and explored the springs of the sea
Or [have you] walked in the recesses of the deep?

“Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?

“Have you understood the expanse of the earth?
Tell Me, if you know all this.

“Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
Or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,

Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
For the day of battle and war?

To whom I gave the wilderness as his home
And the salt land as his dwelling place?

“Have you given the horse his might?
Have you clothed his neck with quivering and a shaking mane?

“I have spoken once, but I will not reply again—
Indeed, twice [I have answered], and I will add nothing further.”

“Have you an arm like God,
And can you thunder with a voice like His?

“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?]

“He looks on everything that is high [without terror];
He is monarch over all the sons of pride. [And now, Job, who are you who does not dare to disturb the beast, yet who dares resist Me, the beast’s creator? Everything under the heavens is Mine; therefore, who can have a claim against God?]”

“[You said to me] ‘Who is this that darkens and obscures counsel [by words] without knowledge?’
Therefore [I now see] I have [rashly] uttered that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.

‘Hear, please, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct [and answer] me.’

It came about that after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.

Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will pray for you. For I will accept him [and his prayer] so that I may not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job has.”

“Yet as for Me, I have anointed and firmly installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

“I will declare the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son;
This day [I proclaim] I have begotten You.

I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands
Who have set themselves against me all around.

Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.

Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have freed me when I was hemmed in and relieved me when I was in distress;
Be gracious to me and hear [and respond to] my prayer.

You have put joy in my heart,
More than [others know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly.

The boastful and the arrogant will not stand in Your sight;
You hate all who do evil.

Hold them guilty, O God;
Let them fall by their own designs and councils!
Cast them out because of the abundance of their transgressions,
For they are mutinous and have rebelled against You.

Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak (faint, frail);
Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed and anguished.

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

If I have done evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or without cause robbed him who was my enemy,

Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
Lift up Yourself against the rage of my enemies;
Rise up for me; You have commanded judgment and vindication.

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!
You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens.

Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
That You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease.

When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have established,

Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,

For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You have sat on the throne judging righteously.

You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked and unrepentant;
You have wiped out their name forever and ever.

The enemy has been cut off and has vanished in everlasting ruins,
You have uprooted their cities;
The very memory of them has perished.

And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.

Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord;
See how I am afflicted by those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,

The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.

In pride and arrogance the wicked hotly pursue and persecute the afflicted;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

You have seen it, for You have noted mischief and vexation (irritation) to take it into Your hand.
The unfortunate commits himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.

O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble and oppressed;
You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to hear,

How long must I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?

And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

But I have trusted and relied on and been confident in Your lovingkindness and faithfulness;
My heart shall rejoice and delight in Your salvation.

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.

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

Have all the workers of wickedness and injustice no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?

Keep and protect me, O God, for in You I have placed my trust and found refuge.

I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”

The [boundary] lines [of the land] have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.