For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.

If, thou, hast prepared thy heart, and wilt spread forth, unto him, thy hands -

“Then, indeed, you could lift up your face without moral defect,
And you would be steadfast and not fear.

“For you would forget your trouble,
As waters that have passed by, you would remember it.

“Your life would be brighter than noonday;
Darkness would be like the morning.

“Then you would trust, because there is hope;
And you would look around and rest securely.

“You would lie down and none would disturb you,
And many would entreat your favor.

"Ask the wild animals, and they'll teach you; the birds of the sky will tell you.

Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge.

He makes the words of responsible persons without effect, and takes away the good sense of the old;

Surely I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to reason with God.

O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.

Would you testify unjustly on God’s behalf
or speak deceitfully for Him?

Would you show partiality to Him
or argue the case in His defense?

“Will it be well for you when He investigates you [and your tactics against me]?
Or will you deceive Him as one deceives a man?

Surely He would rebuke you
if you secretly showed partiality.

Would God’s majesty not terrify you?
Would His dread not fall on you?

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

Moreover, this [is] salvation to me, that [the] godless would not come {before him}.

Who is he that will contend with me? For then would I hold my peace and give up the ghost.

Only two things thou wilt not do with me: then I shall not hide from thy face.

Why wilt thou hide thy face, and reckon me for an enemy to thee?

Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

For thou wilt write bitter things against me; and thou wilt give me to inherit the iniquities of my youth.

And thou wilt set my feet in the stocks, and thou wilt watch all my paths; thou wilt dig round the roots of my feet

Also upon this one didst thou open thine eyes? and wilt thou bring Me into judgment with thee?

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;

“Oh, that You would hide me in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would set a definite time and then remember me [and in Your lovingkindness imprint me on your heart]!

If a man die, shall he live again ? All the days of my warfare would I wait, Till my release should come.

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

For then you would count my steps, [but] you would not keep watch over my sin.

My transgression would be sealed in a bag, and you would cover over my guilt.

The waters rubbed the stones: thou wilt overflow the flowings of the dust of the earth; and thou didst destroy the hope of man.

Thou wilt overpower him forever, and he will go away: changing his face, thou wilt send him away.

Also thou wilt bring to nought, fear, and thou wilt withhold meditation before God.

For thine own mouth would teach thine iniquity, and thou wouldst choose the tongue of the crafty.

Shalt thou hear in the consultation of God? and wilt thou reserve wisdom to thyself?

What knewest thou and we shall not know? wilt thou understand and it not be with us?

Both [the] gray-haired and [the] old [are] among us-- {those older than your father}.

That thou wilt turn thy spirit against God, and thou broughtest words from thy mouth?

And had inhabited demolished cities, houses, wherein men would not dwell, that were destined to become heaps.

Was there an end to words of wind? or what will provoke thee that thou wilt answer?

It would not be hard for me to say such things if your souls were in my soul's place; joining words together against you, and shaking my head at you:

But I would strengthen you with my mouth, and the moving of my lips should asswage your grief.

Thou wilt lay fast hold on me to be for a testimony, and my leanness will rise up in me; it will answer against my face.

O earth, thou wilt not cover my blood; and shall there not be place for my cry?

That he would maintain the right of a man with God, And of a son of man with his neighbor!

For thou hast hidden their heart from understanding; therefore thou wilt not exalt them.

Where then would be my hope? And, as for my blessedness, who should see it!

With me to hades, would they go down, If, wholly - into the dust, is the descent!

young and old shall be astonished at his death.

“And if it were true that I have erred,
My error would remain with me [and I would be conscious of it].

If you really want to appear superior to me
and would use my disgrace as evidence against me,

Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.

To mine own servant, I called, and he would not answer, With mine own mouth, I kept entreating him;

“Why do you persecute me as God does?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)?

Oh would that my words were written! oh that they were inscribed in a book!

would God they were graven with an iron pen in lead or in stone.

But ye would say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?

Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth,

That he favoured, that would he not forsake; but kept it close in his throat.

Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?

They rejoice aloud as with timbrel and lyre, and make merry to the sound of the pipe;

They grow old in prosperity, as they descend peacefully into the afterlife.

Who [is] Shaddai that we should serve him, or what would we benefit when we plead with him?'

Behold, I know your thoughts, And the devices wherewith ye would wrong me.

Who would denounce his behavior to his face?
Who would repay him for what he has done?

Did it please to the Almighty that thou wilt be just? and if gain if thou wilt perfect thy ways?

For thou wilt take a pledge of thy brethren, in vain, and the garments of the naked thou wilt strip of

Thou wilt not give to the weary one water to drink, and from the hungry one thou wilt withhold bread.

Or darkness thou wilt not see; and abundance of waters shall cover thee.

Wilt thou say then, What doth GOD know? Out through a thick cloud, can he judge?

Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?

“Yield now and be at peace with Him;
Thereby good will come to you.

For if thou wilt turn to the Almighty, thou shalt stand fast, and all unrighteousness shall be far from thy dwelling:

For they were humbled, and thou wilt say, A lifting up; and he will save him depressed of eyes.

Oh that I knew where I might find him! I would come even unto his dwelling-place;

I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.

I would know the words which he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.

Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.

There would an upright man reason with him; and I should be delivered for ever from my judge.

But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.

The command of his lips, and would not go back, and, in my bosom, have I treasured the words of his lips.

“Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;
When I consider, I am terrified of Him.

Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

From the city, dying men groan aloud, and the wounded cries out for help, but God charges no one with wrong.

Where is the counsel that thou shouldest give him, which hath no wisdom? Wilt thou so show thine excellent righteousness?

“He wraps the waters in His clouds [which otherwise would spill on earth all at once],
And the cloud does not burst under them.

Far be it from me that {I would say that you are right}; until I pass away, I will not put away from me my blamelessness.

I would teach you, by the hand of GOD, That which is with the Almighty, will I not conceal.

For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.

{Proud wild animals} have not trodden it; [the] lion in its prime has not prowled over it.

Oh that I were as in the months of old, As in the days when God watched over me;

I would be as I was in the days of my youth
when God’s friendship rested on my tent,

The young men saw me, and went away, and the old men got up from their seats;

Nobles would refrain from speaking, covering their mouths with their hands.

The voices of the commanders-in-chief were hushed, and their tongues would cling to the roofs of their mouths."

Then said I, Like a stem, shall I grow old, yea, as the sand, shall I multiply days:

If I had spoken, they would have it none other ways, my words were so well taken among them.

I set an example of the way to live, as a leader would; I lived like a king among his army; like one who comforts mourners."