But ask the animals, and they will instruct you;
ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.

He releases the bonds put on by kings
and fastens a belt around their waists.

But you coat the truth with lies;
you are all worthless doctors.

Why do I put myself at risk
and take my life in my own hands?

You put my feet in the stocks
and stand watch over all my paths,
setting a limit for the soles of my feet.

But a man dies and fades away;
he breathes his last—where is he?

For then You would count my steps
but would not take note of my sin.

But as a mountain collapses and crumbles
and a rock is dislodged from its place,

But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before Him.

Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray,
for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.

If you were in my place I could also talk like you.
I could string words together against you
and shake my head at you.

I was at ease, but He shattered me;
He seized me by the scruff of the neck
and smashed me to pieces.
He set me up as His target;

Make arrangements! Put up security for me.
Who else will be my sponsor?

My eyes have grown dim from grief,
and my whole body has become but a shadow.

But come back and try again, all of you.
I will not find a wise man among you.

If I await Sheol as my home,
spread out my bed in darkness,

and say to corruption: You are my father,
and to the maggot: My mother or my sister,

The light in his tent grows dark,
and the lamp beside him is put out.

I cry out: “Violence!” but get no response;
I call for help, but there is no justice.

I call for my servant, but he does not answer,
even if I beg him with my own mouth.

But I know my living Redeemer,
and He will stand on the dust at last.

His bones may be full of youthful vigor,
but will lie down with him in the grave.

though he cherishes it and will not let it go
but keeps it in his mouth,

He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;
God will force it from his stomach.

Look at me and shudder;
put your hand over your mouth.

But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
Does disaster come on them?
Does He apportion destruction in His anger?

But they both lie in the dust,
and worms cover them.

But it was He who filled their houses with good things.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!

But He is unchangeable; who can oppose Him?
He does what He desires.

Without clothing, they wander about naked.
They carry sheaves but go hungry.

They crush olives in their presses;
they tread the winepresses, but go thirsty.

He gives them a sense of security, so they can rely on it,
but His eyes watch over their ways.

These are but the fringes of His ways;
how faint is the word we hear of Him!
Who can understand His mighty thunder?

he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide up his silver.

He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, it is gone.

Food may come from the earth,
but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.

But where can wisdom be found,
and where is understanding located?

But God understands the way to wisdom,
and He knows its location.

But now they mock me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.

I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
when I stand up, You merely look at me.

But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness came.

I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.
I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.

But when he saw that the three men could not answer Job, he became angry.

But it is a spirit in man
and the breath of the Almighty
that give him understanding.

I paid close attention to you.
Yet no one proved Job wrong;
not one of you refuted his arguments.

But Job has not directed his argument to me,
and I will not respond to him with your arguments.

But now, Job, pay attention to my speech,
and listen to all my words.

But He finds reasons to oppose me;
He regards me as His enemy.

But I tell you that you are wrong in this matter,
since God is greater than man.

For God speaks time and again,
but a person may not notice it.

God spares his soul from the Pit,
his life from crossing the river of death.

A person may be disciplined on his bed with pain
and constant distress in his bones,

He draws near to the Pit,
and his life to the executioners.

and to be gracious to him and say,
“Spare him from going down to the Pit;
I have found a ransom,”

He redeemed my soul from going down to the Pit,
and I will continue to see the light.”

in order to turn him back from the Pit,
so he may shine with the light of life.

But if you have something to say, answer me;
speak, for I would like to justify you.

Who gave Him authority over the earth?
Who put Him in charge of the entire world?

If He put His mind to it
and withdrew the spirit and breath He gave,

but caused the poor to cry out to Him,
and He heard the outcry of the afflicted.

But when God is silent, who can declare Him guilty?
When He hides His face, who can see Him?
Yet He watches over both individuals and nations,

But no one asks, “Where is God my Maker,
who provides us with songs in the night,

There they cry out, but He does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.

But now, because God’s anger does not punish
and He does not pay attention to transgression,

Yes, God is mighty, but He despises no one;
He understands all things.

He does not keep the wicked alive,
but He gives justice to the afflicted.

He does not remove His gaze from the righteous,
but He seats them forever with enthroned kings,
and they are exalted.

But if they do not obey,
they will cross the river of death
and die without knowledge.

when I determined its boundaries
and put its bars and doors in place,

when I declared: “You may come this far, but no farther;
your proud waves stop here”?

Who put wisdom in the heart
or gave the mind understanding?

The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but are her feathers and plumage like the stork’s?

I have spoken once, and I will not reply;
twice, but now I can add nothing.

Can you put a cord through his nose
or pierce his jaw with a hook?

Can you play with him like a bird
or put him on a leash for your girls?

Smoke billows from his nostrils
as from a boiling pot or burning reeds.

I had heard rumors about You,
but now my eyes have seen You.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

But You, Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.

Be angry and do not sin;
on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still.Selah

You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and new wine abound.

But I enter Your house
by the abundance of Your faithful love;
I bow down toward Your holy temple
in reverential awe of You.

But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;
let them shout for joy forever.
May You shelter them,
and may those who love Your name boast about You.

I am weary from my groaning;
with my tears I dampen my pillow
and drench my bed every night.

Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous.
The One who examines the thoughts and emotions
is a righteous God.

He dug a pit and hollowed it out
but fell into the hole he had made.

You made him lord over the works of Your hands;
You put everything under his feet:

But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
He has established His throne for judgment.

The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.

Put terror in them, Lord;
let the nations know they are only men.Selah

But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands.
The helpless entrusts himself to You;
You are a helper of the fatherless.

For look, the wicked string the bow;
they put the arrow on the bowstring
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.

“Because of the oppression of the afflicted
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will put the one who longs for it in a safe place.”

But I have trusted in Your faithful love;
my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.

You sinners frustrate the plans of the afflicted,
but the Lord is his refuge.

who despises the one rejected by the Lord
but honors those who fear the Lord,
who keeps his word whatever the cost,

For You will not abandon me to Sheol;
You will not allow Your Faithful One to see decay.

But I will see Your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be satisfied with Your presence.

They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the Lord was my support.