O keep in mind that you made me out of earth; and will you send me back again to dust?

That, if I did wrong, you would take note of it, and would not make me clear from sin:

That, if I was an evil-doer, the curse would come on me; and if I was upright, my head would not be lifted up, being full of shame and overcome with trouble.

And that if there was cause for pride, you would go after me like a lion; and again put out your wonders against me:

That you would send new witnesses against me, increasing your wrath against me, and letting loose new armies on me.

Are not the days of my life small in number? Let your eyes be turned away from me, so that I may have a little pleasure,

They are higher than heaven; what is there for you to do? deeper than the underworld, and outside your knowledge;

Longer in measure than the earth, and wider than the sea.

And your life will be brighter than day; though it is dark, it will become like the morning.

It seems that I am to be as one who is a cause of laughing to his neighbour, one who makes his prayer to God and is answered! the upright man who has done no wrong is to be made sport of!

Who does not see by all these that the hand of the Lord has done this?

Will it be good for you to be searched out by him, or have you the thought that he may be guided into error like a man?

Will not his glory put you in fear, so that your hearts will be overcome before him?

And that will be my salvation, for an evil-doer would not come before him,

See now, I have put my cause in order, and I am certain that I will be seen to be right.

Is it on such a one as this that your eyes are fixed, with the purpose of judging him?

Let your eyes be turned away from him, and take your hand from him, so that he may have pleasure at the end of his day, like a servant working for payment.

Truly, you make the fear of God without effect, so that the time of quiet worship before God is made less by your outcry.

It is by your mouth, even yours, that you are judged to be in the wrong, and not by me; and your lips give witness against you.

With us are men who are grey-haired and full of years, much older than your father.

So that you are turning your spirit against God, and letting such words go out of your mouth?

What is man, that he may be clean? and how may the son of woman be upright?

He is wandering about in search of bread, saying, Where is it? and he is certain that the day of trouble is ready for him:

So that he may give decision for a man in his cause with God, and between a son of man and his neighbour.

In his tent will be seen that which is not his, burning stone is dropped on his house.

Be certain that it is God who has done me wrong, and has taken me in his net.

My way is walled up by him so that I may not go by: he has made my roads dark.

But I am certain that he who will take up my cause is living, and that in time to come he will take his place on the dust;

Be in fear of the sword, for the sword is the punishment for such things, so that you may be certain that there is a judge.

That the pride of the sinner is short, and the joy of the evil-doer but for a minute?

His children are hoping that the poor will be kind to them, and his hands give back his wealth.

Let me say what is in my mind, and after that, go on making sport of me.

What is the Ruler of all, that we may give him worship? and what profit is it to us to make prayer to him?

You say, God keeps punishment stored up for his children. Let him send it on the man himself, so that he may have the punishment of it!

Why then do you give me comfort with words in which there is no profit, when you see that there is nothing in your answers but deceit?

Is it of any interest to the Ruler of all that you are upright? or is it of use to him that your ways are without sin?

Is it because you give him honour that he is sending punishment on you and is judging you?

Your light is made dark so that you are unable to see, and you are covered by a mass of waters.

Thick clouds are covering him, so that he is unable to see; and he is walking on the arch of heaven.

If only I had knowledge of where he might be seen, so that I might come even to his seat!

He who is purposing death gets up before day, so that he may put to death the poor and those in need.

And if it is not so, now, who will make it clear that my words are false, and that what I say is of no value?

See, these are only the outskirts of his ways; and how small is that which comes to our ears about him! But the thunder of his acts of power is outside all knowledge.

Let it be far from me! I will certainly not say that you are right! I will come to death before I give up my righteousness.

His house has no more strength than a spider's thread, or a watchman's tent.

The great beasts have not gone over it, and the cruel lion has not taken that way.

There is no need to say anything about coral or crystal; and the value of wisdom is greater than that of pearls.

For when it came to their ears, men said that I was truly happy; and when their eyes saw, they gave witness to me;

But now those who are younger than I make sport of me; those whose fathers I would not have put with the dogs of my flocks.

For I am certain that you will send me back to death, and to the meeting-place ordered for all living.

For that would be a crime; it would be an act for which punishment would be measured out by the judges:

If I saw one near to death for need of clothing, and that the poor had nothing covering him;

If my hand had been lifted up against him who had done no wrong, when I saw that I was supported by the judges;

That would have been another sin to be rewarded with punishment by the judges; for I would have been false to God on high.

For fear of the great body of people, or for fear that families might make sport of me, so that I kept quiet, and did not go out of my door;

And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was angry, burning with wrath against Job, because he seemed to himself more right than God;

Now Elihu had kept quiet while Job was talking, because they were older than he;

And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he was very angry.

Take care that you do not say, Wisdom is here; God may overcome him, but not man.

Let me say what is in my mind, so that I may get comfort; let me give answer with open mouth.

Truly, in saying this you are wrong; for God is greater than man.

Then he makes his secrets clear to men, so that they are full of fear at what they see;

In order that man may be turned from his evil works, and that pride may be taken away from him;

His flesh is so wasted away, that it may not be seen, and his bones. ...

Keeping back his soul from the underworld, so that he may see the light of life.

If you have anything to say, give me an answer; for it is my desire that you may be judged free from sin.

For he gives to every man the reward of his work, and sees that he gets the fruit of his ways.

How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?

Who has no respect for rulers, and who gives no more attention to those who have wealth than to the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.

For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed.

So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears.

What profit is it to me, and how am I better off than if I had done wrong?

Let your eyes be turned to the heavens, and lifted up to see the skies; they are higher than you.

Who gives us more knowledge than the beasts of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the heaven?

How much less when you say that you do not see him; that the cause is before him, and you are waiting for him.

Their ear is open to his teaching, and he gives them orders so that their hearts may be turned from evil.

They come to their end while they are still young, their life is short like that of those who are used for sex purposes in the worship of their gods.

See that you give praise to his work, about which men make songs.

Truly, God is great, greater than all our knowledge; the number of his years may not be searched out.

He does wonders, more than may be searched out; great things of which we have no knowledge;

He puts an end to the work of every man, so that all may see his work.

And it goes this way and that, round about, turning itself by his guiding, to do whatever he gives orders to be done, on the face of his world of men,

So that it might take a grip of the skirts of the earth, shaking all the evil-doers out of it?

So that you might take it to its limit, guiding it to its house?

Is your voice sent up to the cloud, so that you may be covered by the weight of waters?

Do you send out the thunder-flames, so that they may go, and say to you, Here we are?

Do you go after food for the she-lion, or get meat so that the young lions may have enough,

That she puts her eggs on the earth, warming them in the dust,

Without a thought that they may be crushed by the foot, and broken by the beasts of the field?

Do you give strength to the horse? is it by your hand that his neck is clothed with power?

Is it through you that he is shaking like a locust, in the pride of his loud-sounding breath?

Is it through your knowledge that the hawk takes his flight, stretching out his wings to the south?

Or is it by your orders that the eagle goes up, and makes his resting-place on high?

Will you even make my right of no value? will you say that I am wrong in order to make clear that you are right?

Then I will give praise to you, saying that your right hand is able to give you salvation.

Will he make an agreement with you, so that you may take him as a servant for ever?

He is so cruel that no one is ready to go against him. Who then is able to keep his place before me?

One is so near to the other that no air may come between them.

They take a grip of one another; they are joined together, so that they may not be parted.

The arrow is not able to put him to flight: stones are no more to him than dry stems.