“Behold, this is the joy of His way;
And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place].

Who commands the sun, and it does not shine;
Who seals up the stars [from view];

“Let Him take His rod away from me,
And let not the dread and fear of Him terrify me.

‘If I sin, then You would take note and observe me,
And You would not acquit me of my guilt.

‘I should have been as though I had not existed;
[I should have been] carried from the womb to the grave.’

“Shall a multitude of words not be answered?
And should a talkative man [making such a long-winded defense] be acquitted?

If sin is in your hand, put it far away [from you],
And do not let wrongdoing dwell in your tents;

“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.

“Only [O Lord,] do not do two things to me,
And then I will not hide myself from Your face:

Withdraw Your hand from me and remove this bodily suffering,
And let not the dread of You terrify me.

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

“[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.

“As water evaporates from the sea,
And a river drains and dries up,

“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].

“He will not escape from darkness [fleeing disaster];
The flame [of God’s wrath] will wither his branch,
And by the blast of His mouth he will go away.

“If I speak [to you miserable comforters], my pain is not relieved;
And if I refrain [from speaking], what [pain or anguish] leaves me?

“For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way of no return.

“These [thoughts try to] make the night into the day;
‘The light is near,’ they say in the presence of darkness [but they pervert the truth].

“Memory of him perishes from the earth,
And he has no name on the street.

“He is driven and propelled from light into darkness,
And chased from the inhabited world.

“He has stripped me of my honor
And removed the crown from my head.

“He has put my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

“Even after my [mortal] skin is destroyed [by death],
Yet from my [immortal] flesh I will see God,

“Do you not know this from the old days,
Since the time that man was placed on the earth,

“He may flee from the iron weapon,
But the bow of bronze will pierce him through.

“This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
And the heritage decreed and appointed to him by God.”

“Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

“But notice, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their hand (in their power);
The counsel of the wicked [and the mystery of God’s dealings with the ungodly] is far from my comprehension.

“You have not given water to the weary to drink,
And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

“They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do for us or to us?’

“Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked and ungodly is far from me.

“Please receive the law and instruction from His mouth
And establish His words in your heart and keep them.

“If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored];
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents,

“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have kept the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

But I am not silenced by the darkness [of these woes that fell on me],
Nor by the thick darkness which covers my face.

“Why does the Almighty not set seasons for judgment?
Why do those who know Him not see His days [for punishment of the wicked]?

“Others snatch the fatherless [infants] from the breast [to sell or make them slaves],
And against the poor they take a pledge [of clothing].

“They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves [of grain] from the hungry.

“Within the walls [of the wicked] the poor make [olive] oil;
They tread [the grapes in] the wine presses, but thirst.

“From the [populous and crowded] city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out for help;
Yet God [seemingly] does not pay attention to the wrong [done to them].

“To whom have you uttered [these] words?
And whose spirit [inspired what] came forth from you?

“Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) is naked before God,
And Abaddon (the place of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes].

“Far be it from me that I should admit you are right [in your accusations against me];
Until I die, I will not remove my integrity from me.

“This [which I am about to explain] is the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants and oppressors receive from the Almighty:

“Iron is taken out of the earth,
And copper is smelted from the stone ore.

“He breaks open (mine) shafts far away from where people live,
[In places] forgotten by the [human] foot;
They dangle [in the mines] and hang away from men.

“From where then does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?

“It is hidden from the eyes of all the living
And concealed from the birds of the heavens.

“But to man He said, ‘Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord—that is wisdom;
And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

The princes stopped talking
And put their hands on their mouths;

“They are driven from the community;
They shout after them as after a thief.

“They hate me, they stand aloof from me,
And do not refrain from spitting in my face.

“My skin falls from me in blackened flakes,
And my bones are burned with fever.

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

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

(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),

Then let my shoulder fall away from its socket,
And my arm be broken off at the elbow.

“For tragedy from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty and exaltation I can do nothing [nor endure facing Him].

“Oh, that I had one to listen to me!
Look, here is my signature (mark);
Let the Almighty answer me!
Let my adversary write out His indictment [and put His vague accusations in tangible form].

That He may turn man aside from his conduct,
And keep him from pride;

He holds back his soul from the pit [of destruction],
And his life from passing over into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

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]!’

‘God has redeemed my life from going to the pit [of destruction],
And my life shall see the light.’”

To bring his life back from the pit [of destruction],
That he may be enlightened with the light of the living.

“Therefore hear me, you men of understanding.
Far be it from God that He would do wickedness,
And from the Almighty to do wrong.

“If God should determine to do so,
If He should gather to Himself [that is, withdraw from man] His [life-giving] spirit and His breath,

Because they turned aside from following Him
And would not consider or show regard for any of His ways,

“When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?
When He hides His face [withdrawing His favor and help], who then can behold Him [and make supplication to Him],
Whether it be a nation or a man by himself?—

“If you are righteous, what do you give God,
Or what does He receive from your hand?

“I will bring my knowledge from afar,
And will ascribe righteousness to my Maker.

“He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous [those in right standing with Him];
But with kings upon the throne
He has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

“He opens their ears to instruction and discipline,
And commands that they return from evil.

“Will your wealth [be sufficient to] keep you from [the confinement of] distress,
Or will all the force of your strength do it?

“Do not long for the night,
When people vanish from their places.

“For He draws up the drops of water,
They distill rain from the mist,

“Out of its chamber comes the storm,
And cold from the north wind.

“Their light is withheld from the wicked,
And the uplifted arm is broken.

“He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;
And [in battle] he does not turn back from the sword.

“As often as the trumpet sounds he says, ‘Aha!’
And he smells the battle from far away,
And senses the thunder of the captains and the war cry.

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

“His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.

“Let us break apart their [divine] bands [of restraint]
And cast away their cords [of control] from us.”

Depart from me, all you who do evil,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.

O Lord my God, in You I take refuge;
Save me and rescue me from all those who pursue me,

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

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,

Save and help and rescue, Lord, for godly people cease to be,
For the faithful vanish from among the sons of men.

You, O Lord, will preserve and keep them;
You will protect him from this [evil] generation forever.

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?

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].

Hear the just (righteous) cause, O Lord; listen to my loud [piercing] cry;
Listen to my prayer, that comes from guileless lips.

Let my verdict of vindication come from Your presence;
May Your eyes look with equity and behold things that are just.

Wondrously show Your [marvelous and amazing] lovingkindness,
O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.

From the wicked who despoil and deal violently with me,
My deadly enemies who surround me.

Arise, O Lord, confront him, cast him down;
Save my soul from the wicked with Your sword,

From men with Your hand, O Lord,
From men of the world [these moths of the night] whose portion [of enjoyment] is in this life—idle and vain,
And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And they leave what they have left [of wealth] to their children.

I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
And I am saved from my enemies.

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

The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.

He reached from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of many waters.