I was a father to the poor, searching out the cause of him who was strange to me.

By me the great teeth of the evil-doer were broken, and I made him give up what he had violently taken away.

Has not my hand been stretched out in help to the poor? have I not been a saviour to him in his trouble?

Have I not been weeping for the crushed? and was not my soul sad for him who was in need?

Did not God make him as well as me? did he not give us life in our mothers' bodies?

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

If his back did not give me a blessing, and the wool of my sheep did not make him warm;

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

If I was glad at the trouble of my hater, and gave cries of joy when evil overtook him;

I would make clear the number of my steps, I would put it before him like a prince! The words of Job are ended.

And he was angry with his three friends, because they had been unable to give him an answer, and had not made Job's sin clear.

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

I will not put forward words like these, or make use of your sayings in answer to him.

Why do you put forward your cause against him, saying, He gives no answer to any of my words?

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

Pain is sent on him as a punishment, while he is on his bed; there is no end to the trouble in his bones;

If now there may be an angel sent to him, one of the thousands which there are to be between him and God, and to make clear to man what is right for him;

And if he has mercy on him, and says, Let him not go down to the underworld, I have given the price for his life:

He makes his prayer to God, and he has mercy on him; he sees God's face with cries of joy; he gives news of his righteousness to men;

Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?

If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,

For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.

Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,

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

For in addition to his sin, he is uncontrolled in heart; before our eyes he makes sport of God, increasing his words against him.

If you have done wrong, is he any the worse for it? and if your sins are great in number, what is it to him?

If you are upright, what do you give to him? or what does he take from your hand?

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

Truly God is lifted up in strength; who is a ruler like him?

Who ever gave orders to him, or said to him, You have done wrong?

Have you knowledge of the balancings of the clouds, the wonders of him who has all wisdom?

Will you, with him, make the skies smooth, and strong as a polished looking-glass?

Make clear to me what we are to say to him; we are unable to put our cause before him, because of the dark.

How may he have knowledge of my desire for talk with him? or did any man ever say, May destruction come on me?

For this cause men go in fear of him; he has no respect for any who are wise in heart.

Will you put your faith in him, because his strength is great? will you give the fruit of your work into his care?

Will you be looking for him to come back, and get in your seed to the crushing-floor?

When she is shaking her wings on high, she makes sport of the horse and of him who is seated on him.

The bow is sounding against him; he sees the shining point of spear and arrow.

Will he who is protesting give teaching to the Ruler of all? Let him who has arguments to put forward against God give an answer.

He is the chief of the ways of God, made by him for his pleasure.

He is covered by the branches of the trees; the grasses of the stream are round him.

Truly, if the river is overflowing, it gives him no cause for fear; he has no sense of danger, even if Jordan is rushing against his mouth.

Will anyone take him when he is on the watch, or put metal teeth through his nose?

Will you put a cord into his nose, or take him away with a cord round his tongue?

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

Will you make sport with him, as with a bird? or put him in chains for your young women?

Will the fishermen make profit out of him? will they have him cut up for the traders?

Only put your hand on him, and see what a fight you will have; you will not do it again!

Truly, the hope of his attacker is false; he is overcome even on seeing him!

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

Strength is in his neck, and fear goes dancing before him.

The sword may come near him but is not able to go through him; the spear, or the arrow, or the sharp-pointed iron.

Iron is to him as dry grass, and brass as soft wood.

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

Under him are sharp edges of broken pots: as if he was pulling a grain-crushing instrument over the wet earth.

After him his way is shining, so that the deep seems white.

On earth there is not another like him, who is made without fear.

Everything which is high goes in fear of him; he is king over all the sons of pride.

And all his brothers and sisters, and his friends of earlier days, came and took food with him in his house; and made clear their grief for him, and gave him comfort for all the evil which the Lord had sent on him; and they all gave him a bit of money and a gold ring.

Give worship to the Lord with fear, kissing his feet and giving him honour,

For fear that he may be angry, causing destruction to come on you, because he is quickly moved to wrath. Happy are all those who put their faith in him.

For you, Lord, will send a blessing on the upright man; your grace will be round him, and you will be his strength.

The Lord has given ear to my request; the Lord has let my prayer come before him.

O Lord my God, I put my faith in you; take me out of the hands of him who is cruel to me, and make me free;

If I have given back evil to him who did evil to me, or have taken anything from him who was against me without cause;

He has made ready for him the instruments of death; he makes his arrows flames of fire.

His wrongdoing will come back to him, and his violent behaviour will come down on his head.

What is man, that you keep him in mind? the son of man, that you take him into account?

For you have made him only a little lower than the gods, crowning him with glory and honour.

You have made him ruler over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet;

The evil-doer in his pride is cruel to the poor; let him be taken by the tricks of his invention.

For the evil-doer is lifted up because of the purpose of his heart, and he whose mind is fixed on wealth is turned away from the Lord, saying evil against him.

His ways are ever fixed; your decisions are higher than he may see: as for his haters, they are as nothing to him.

He keeps himself in a secret place like a lion in his hole, waiting to put his hands on the poor man, and pulling him into his net.

Because of the crushing of the poor and the weeping of those in need, now will I come to his help, says the Lord; I will give him the salvation which he is desiring.

And he who is against me may not say, I have overcome him; and those who are troubling me may not be glad when I am moved.

The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour; my God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

In my trouble my voice went up to the Lord, and my cry to my God: my voice came to his hearing in his holy Temple, and my prayer came before him, even into his ears.

He made the dark his secret place; his tent round him was the dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.

The Lord gives me the reward of my righteousness, because my hands are clean before him.

And I was upright before him, and I kept myself from sin.

On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright;

As for God, his way is completely good; the word of the Lord is tested; he is a breastplate for all those who put their faith in him.

Now am I certain that the Lord gives salvation to his king; he will give him an answer from his holy heaven with the strength of salvation in his right hand.

You have given him his heart's desire, and have not kept back the request of his lips. (Selah.)

For you go before him with the blessings of good things: you put a crown of fair gold on his head.

He made request to you for life, and you gave it to him, long life for ever and ever.

His glory is great in your salvation: honour and authority have you put on him.

For you have made him a blessing for ever: you have given him joy in the light of your face.

He put his faith in the Lord; let the Lord be his saviour now: let the Lord be his saviour, because he had delight in him.

You who have fear of the Lord, give him praise; all you seed of Jacob, give him glory; go in fear of him, all you seed of Israel.

For he has not been unmoved by the pain of him who is troubled; or kept his face covered from him; but he has given an answer to his cry.

The poor will have a feast of good things: those who make search for the Lord will give him praise: your heart will have life for ever.

All the ends of the earth will keep it in mind and be turned to the Lord: all the families of the nations will give him worship.

All the fat ones of the earth will give him worship; all those who go down to the dust will make themselves low before him, even he who has not enough for the life of his soul.

The secret of the Lord is with those in whose hearts is the fear of him; he will make his agreement clear to them.

Because they have no respect for the works of the Lord, or for the things which his hands have made, they will be broken down and not lifted up by him.

The Lord is my strength and my breastplate, my heart had faith in him and I am helped; for this cause my heart is full of rapture, and I will give him praise in my song.

Let the false lips be shut, which say evil against the upright, looking down on him in their pride.