“You say, ‘What does God know [about me]?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?

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

“But He is unique and unchangeable, and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.

“How then can man be justified and righteous with God?
Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?

“Yet these are just the fringes of His ways [mere samples of His power],
The faintest whisper of His voice!
Who can contemplate the thunder of His [full] mighty power?”

“Gold and glass cannot equal wisdom,
Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

“The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,
Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

“I assure you, the men of my tent have said,
‘Who can find one [in need] who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

“Answer me, if you can;
Set yourselves before me, take your stand.

“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?—

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

“Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds
Or the thundering of His pavilion?

“Can you, with Him, spread out the sky,
Strong as a molten mirror?

“Out of the north comes golden splendor [and people can hardly look on it];
Around God is awesome splendor and majesty [far too glorious for man’s eyes].

“Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades,
Or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion?

“Can you lead forth a constellation in its season,
And guide [the stars of] the Bear with her sons?

“Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,
Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?

“Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
So that an abundance of water will cover you?

“Can you send forth lightnings that they may go
And say to you, ‘Here we are’?

“Who can count the clouds by [earthly] wisdom,
Or pour out the water jars of the heavens,

“Can you [Job] hunt the prey for the lion,
Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions

“Can you count the months that they carry offspring,
Or do you know the time when they give birth?

“Can you bind the wild ox with a harness [to the plow] in the furrow?
Or will he plow the valleys for you?

“Yet when she lifts herself on high,
[So swift is she that] she laughs at the horse and his rider.

“With fierceness and rage he races to devour the ground,
And he does not stand still at the sound of the [war] trumpet.

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

“[If you can do all this, Job, proving your divine power] then I [God] will also praise you and acknowledge
That your own right hand can save you.

“He is the first [in magnitude and power] of the works of God;
[Only] He who made him can bring near His sword [to master him].

“Can anyone capture him when he is on watch,
Or pierce his nose with barbs [to trap him]?

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook?
Or press down his tongue with a cord?

“Can you put a rope [made] of rushes into his nose
Or pierce his jaw through with a hook?

“Can you fill his skin with harpoons,
Or his head with fishing spears?

“No one is so fierce [and foolhardy] that he dares to stir up Leviathan;
Who then is he who can stand before Me [or dares to contend with Me, the beast’s creator]?

“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?]

“Who can penetrate or strip off his outer armor?
Who can come to his jaws with a double bridle?

“Who can open the doors (jaws) of his face?
Around his [open jaws and] teeth there is terror.

“One is so near to another
That no air can come between them.

“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?]”

“I know that You can do all things,
And that no thought or purpose of Yours can be restrained.

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

In the Lord I take refuge [and put my trust];
How can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to your mountain;

“If the foundations [of a godly society] are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”

For by You I can crush a troop,
And by my God I can leap over a wall.

He trains my hands for war,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Who can understand his errors or omissions? Acquit me of hidden (unconscious, unintended) faults.

I can count all my bones;
They look, they stare at me.

Many, O Lord my God, are the wonderful works which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of your wonders,
They would be too many to count.

O my God, my soul is in despair within me [the burden more than I can bear];
Therefore I will [fervently] remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the peaks of [Mount] Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—

For the ransom of his soul is too costly,
And he should cease trying forever—

In God, whose word I praise;
In God I have put my trust;
I shall not fear.
What can mere man do to me?

In God have I put my trust and confident reliance; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

Before your cooking pots can feel the fire of thorns [burning under them as fuel],
He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning ones alike.

Then they spoke against God;
They said, “Can God prepare [food for] a table in the wilderness?

“Behold, He struck the rock so that waters gushed out
And the streams overflowed;
Can He give bread also?
Or will He provide meat for His people?”

For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the divine beings is like the Lord,

What man can live and not see death?
Can he rescue his soul from the [powerful] hand of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Selah.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].

Who can put into words the mighty deeds of the Lord?
Or who can proclaim all His praise [that is due Him]?

They have hands, but they cannot feel;
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
Nor can they make a sound with their throats.

What will I give to the Lord [in return]
For all His benefits toward me?
[How can I repay Him for His precious blessings?]

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can [mere] man do to me?

I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have revived me and given me life.

He casts out His ice like fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?

She is more precious than rubies;
And nothing you can wish for compares with her [in value].

Can a man take fire to his chest
And his clothes not be burned?

Or can a man walk on hot coals
And his feet not be scorched?

The ransom for a man’s life is his wealth,
But the poor man does not even have to listen to a rebuke or threats [from the envious].

The spirit of a man sustains him in sickness,
But as for a broken spirit, who can bear it?

Many a man proclaims his own loyalty and goodness,
But who can find a faithful and trustworthy man?

Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
I am pure from my sin?”

Man’s steps are ordered and ordained by the Lord.
How then can a man [fully] understand his way?

It is a trap for a man to [speak a vow of consecration and] say rashly, “It is holy!”
And [not until] afterward consider [whether he can fulfill it].

There is no [human] wisdom or understanding
Or counsel [that can prevail] against the Lord.

For by wise guidance you can wage your war,
And in an abundance of [wise] counselors there is victory and safety.

The lazy person is wiser in his own eyes
Than seven [sensible] men who can give a discreet answer.

You may grasp the lizard with your hands,
Yet it is in kings’ palaces.

An excellent woman [one who is spiritual, capable, intelligent, and virtuous], who is he who can find her?
Her value is more precious than jewels and her worth is far above rubies or pearls.

So I turned to consider [secular] wisdom, madness, and folly; for what will the man do who succeeds the king? Nothing except what has already been done.

For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him?

He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor can anything be taken from it, for God does it so that men will fear and worship Him [with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is God].

Again, if two lie down together, then they keep warm; but how can one be warm alone?

As he came naked from his mother’s womb, so he will return as he came; and he will take away nothing from all his labor that he can carry in his hand.

Whatever exists has already been named [long ago], and it is known what [a frail being] man is; for he cannot dispute with Him who is mightier than he.

For who [limited by human wisdom] knows what is good for man during his lifetime, during the few days of his futile life? He spends them like a shadow [staying busy, but achieving nothing of lasting value]. For who can tell a man what will happen after him [to his work, his treasure, his plans] under the sun [after his life is over]?

Consider the work of God:
Who can make straight what He has bent?

Whatever has been is far off, deeply remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it [for it is beyond the grasp of man]?

For the word of a king is authoritative and powerful,
And who will say to him, “What are you doing?”

For no one knows what will happen;
So who can tell him how and when it will happen?

Yet the fool multiplies words, though no man knows what will happen, and who can tell him what will come after he is gone?

“Let his left hand be under my head
And his right hand embrace me.”

(The Bridegroom)“I have come into my garden, my sister, my [promised] bride;
I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam and spice [from your sweet words].
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk.
Eat, friends;
Drink and drink deeply, O lovers.”

“Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can rivers drown it.
If a man would offer all the riches of his house for love,
It would be utterly scorned and despised.”

“My very own vineyard is at my disposal;
The thousand [shekels of silver] are for you, O Solomon,
And two hundred are for those who tend the fruit.”

Stop regarding man, whose breath [of life] is in his nostrils [for so little time];
For why should he be esteemed?

Then the Lord said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet [for public display] and write on it in ordinary characters: Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

For the Lord of hosts has decided and planned, and who can annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”

The princes of Zoan are complete fools;
The counsel of the Pharaoh’s wisest advisors has become stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings?”

Where then are your wise men?
Please let them tell you,
And let them understand what the Lord of hosts
Has purposed against Egypt [if they can].