What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from their fathers,

“He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
And he is destined for the sword.

“He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not bend down to the ground.

“He will not escape from darkness;
The flame will wither his shoots,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

“Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his reward.

“It will be accomplished before his time,
And his palm branch will not be green.

“If I speak, my pain is not lessened,
And if I hold back, what has left me?

“O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no resting place for my cry.

“For You have kept their heart from understanding,
Therefore You will not exalt them.

“But come again all of you now,
For I do not find a wise man among you.

“They make night into day, saying,
‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.

“For he is thrown into the net by his own feet,
And he steps on the webbing.

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

“These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me.

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

“I call to my servant, but he does not answer;
I have to implore him with my mouth.

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

Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!

“He flies away like a dream, and they cannot find him;
Even like a vision of the night he is chased away.

Though he desires it and will not let it go,
But holds it in his mouth,

“He does not look at the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and curds.

“For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor;
He has seized a house which he has not built.

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

“Nothing remains for him to devour,
Therefore his prosperity does not endure.

“As for me, is my complaint to man?
And why should I not be impatient?

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

“His ox mates without fail;
His cow calves and does not abort.

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

“Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

“Have you not asked wayfaring men,
And do you not recognize their witness?

“Is not your wickedness great,
And your iniquities without end?

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

“He will deliver one who is not innocent,
And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

“Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;

“My foot has held fast to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.

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

But I am not silenced by the darkness,
Nor deep gloom which covers me.

“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not see His days?

“They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.

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

“Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor abide in its paths.

“The murderer arises at dawn;
He kills the poor and the needy,
And at night he is as a thief.

“In the dark they dig into houses,
They shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.

“They are insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is cursed on the earth.
They do not turn toward the vineyards.

“Now if it is not so, who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”

“Is there any number to His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?

“If even the moon has no brightness
And the stars are not pure in His sight,

“He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not burst under them.

My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.

“Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.

“I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not reproach any of my days.

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

“Though his sons are many, they are destined for the sword;
And his descendants will not be satisfied with bread.

“His survivors will be buried because of the plague,
And their widows will not be able to weep.

“Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away in the night.

“The proud beasts have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

“Man does not know its value,
Nor is it found in the land of the living.

“The deep says, ‘It is not in me’;
And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’

“Coral and crystal are not to be mentioned;
And the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls.

“I was a father to the needy,
And I investigated the case which I did not know.

‘My root is spread out to the waters,
And dew lies all night on my branch.

“After my words they did not speak again,
And my speech dropped on them.

“I smiled on them when they did not believe,
And the light of my face they did not cast down.

“From want and famine they are gaunt
Who gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation,

“They abhor me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not refrain from spitting at my face.

“At night it pierces my bones within me,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.

“I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.

“Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
Or in his disaster therefore cry out for help?

“Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard?
Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

“Is it not calamity to the unjust
And disaster to those who work iniquity?

“Does He not see my ways
And number all my steps?

“Did not He who made me in the womb make him,
And the same one fashion us in the womb?

Or have eaten my morsel alone,
And the orphan has not shared it

If his loins have not thanked me,
And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

“No, I have not allowed my mouth to sin
By asking for his life in a curse.

“Have the men of my tent not said,
‘Who can find one who has not been satisfied with his meat’?

“The alien has not lodged outside,
For I have opened my doors to the traveler.

Because I feared the great multitude,
And the contempt of families terrified me,
And kept silent and did not go out of doors?

“The abundant in years may not be wise,
Nor may elders understand justice.

“I even paid close attention to you;
Indeed, there was no one who refuted Job,
Not one of you who answered his words.

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

“For he has not arranged his words against me,
Nor will I reply to him with your arguments.

“Shall I wait, because they do not speak,
Because they stop and no longer answer?

“For I do not know how to flatter,
Else my Maker would soon take me away.

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

“Why do you complain against Him
That He does not give an account of all His doings?

“In a dream, a vision of the night,
When sound sleep falls on men,
While they slumber in their beds,

“His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones which were not seen stick out.

“He will sing to men and say,
‘I have sinned and perverted what is right,
And it is not proper for me.

“If not, listen to me;
Keep silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”

“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.

“Therefore He knows their works,
And He overthrows them in the night,
And they are crushed.

So that godless men would not rule
Nor be snares of the people.

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

Teach me what I do not see;
If I have done iniquity,
I will not do it again’?

“Shall He recompense on your terms, because you have rejected it?
For you must choose, and not I;
Therefore declare what you know.

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

“There they cry out, but He does not answer
Because of the pride of evil men.

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