“My friends are my scoffers;
My eye weeps to God.

“O that a man might plead with God
As a man with his neighbor!

“His roots are dried below,
And his branch is cut off above.

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked,
And this is the place of him who does not know God.”

Know then that God has wronged me
And has closed His net around me.

“Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;
I shout for help, but there is no justice.

“Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has struck me.

“Why do you persecute me as God does,
And are not satisfied with my flesh?

“Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;

“He swallows riches,
But will vomit them up;
God will expel them from his belly.

“Because he knew no quiet within him,
He does not retain anything he desires.

“When he fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And will rain it on him while he is eating.

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

Their houses are safe from fear,
And the rod of God is not on them.

“They say to God, ‘Depart from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.

“How often is the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their calamity fall on them?
Does God apportion destruction in His anger?

“You say, ‘God stores away a man’s iniquity for his sons.’
Let God repay him so that he may know it.

“For what does he care for his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut off?

“Can anyone teach God knowledge,
In that He judges those on high?

While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting anything good.

“Can a vigorous man be of use to God,
Or a wise man be useful to himself?

“Is not God in the height of heaven?
Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!

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

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

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

Saying, ‘Truly our adversaries are cut off,
And their abundance the fire has consumed.’

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

“For then you will delight in the Almighty
And lift up your face to God.

“It is God who has made my heart faint,
And the Almighty who has dismayed me,

“From the city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God does not pay attention to folly.

“He wrongs the barren woman
And does no good for the widow.

“They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

“How then can a man be just with God?
Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?

“As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,

For as long as life is in me,
And the breath of God is in my nostrils,

“For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off,
When God requires his life?

“Will God hear his cry
When distress comes upon him?

“Will he take delight in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?

“I will instruct you in the power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

“This is the portion of a wicked man from God,
And the inheritance which tyrants receive from the Almighty.

“God understands its way,
And He knows its place.

“Oh that I were as in months gone by,
As in the days when God watched over me;

As I was in the prime of my days,
When the friendship of God was over my tent;

“When I went out to the gate of the city,
When I took my seat in the square,

“Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.

“By a great force my garment is distorted;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.

“When I expected good, then evil came;
When I waited for light, then darkness came.

“And what is the portion of God from above
Or the heritage of the Almighty from on high?

Let Him weigh me with accurate scales,
And let God know my integrity.

What then could I do when God arises?
And when He calls me to account, what will I answer Him?

If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,
Because I saw I had support in the gate,

“For calamity from God is a terror to me,
And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

That too would have been an iniquity calling for judgment,
For I would have denied God above.

But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned because he justified himself before God.

“Do not say,
‘We have found wisdom;
God will rout him, not man.’

“Let me speak that I may get relief;
Let me open my lips and answer.

“The Spirit of God has made me,
And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

“Behold, I belong to God like you;
I too have been formed out of the clay.

“Behold, let me tell you, you are not right in this,
For God is greater than man.

“Indeed God speaks once,
Or twice, yet no one notices it.

Then he will pray to God, and He will accept him,
That he may see His face with joy,
And He may restore His righteousness to man.

“Behold, God does all these oftentimes with men,

“Let us choose for ourselves what is right;
Let us know among ourselves what is good.

“For Job has said, ‘I am righteous,
But God has taken away my right;

“For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
When he is pleased with God.’

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

“Surely, God will not act wickedly,
And the Almighty will not pervert justice.

“For He does not need to consider a man further,
That he should go before God in judgment.

When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?
And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him,
That is, in regard to both nation and man?—

“For has anyone said to God,
‘I have borne chastisement;
I will not offend anymore;

‘For he adds rebellion to his sin;
He claps his hands among us,
And multiplies his words against God.’”

“Do you think this is according to justice?
Do you say, ‘My righteousness is more than God’s’?

“But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
Who gives songs in the night,

“Surely God will not listen to an empty cry,
Nor will the Almighty regard it.

“Wait for me a little, and I will show you
That there is yet more to be said in God’s behalf.

“Behold, God is mighty but does not despise any;
He is mighty in strength of understanding.

“Behold, God is exalted in His power;
Who is a teacher like Him?

“Behold, God is exalted, and we do not know Him;
The number of His years is unsearchable.

“God thunders with His voice wondrously,
Doing great things which we cannot comprehend.

“From the breath of God ice is made,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.

“Listen to this, O Job,
Stand and consider the wonders of God.

“Do you know how God establishes them,
And makes the lightning of His cloud to shine?

“Out of the north comes golden splendor;
Around God is awesome majesty.

When the morning stars sang together
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

“Who prepares for the raven its nourishment
When its young cry to God
And wander about without food?

“They kneel down, they bring forth their young,
They get rid of their labor pains.

Because God has made her forget wisdom,
And has not given her a share of understanding.

“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?
Let him who reproves God answer it.”

“Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you thunder with a voice like His?

“He is the first of the ways of God;
Let his maker bring near his sword.

Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no deliverance for him in God.” Selah.

Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have smitten all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

Many are saying, “Who will show us any good?”
Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O Lord!

Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You.

Hold them guilty, O God;
By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out,
For they are rebellious against You.

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
O Lord my God, in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,

O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is injustice in my hands,

O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous;
For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.