Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep, that you must put me under guard?

so that I would prefer strangling, and death more than life.

"What is mankind that you make so much of them, and that you pay attention to them?

And that you visit them every morning, and try them every moment?

"How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind?

If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, 'I have never seen you!'

"Truly, I know that this is so. But how can a human be just before God?

he who shakes the earth out of its place so that its pillars tremble;

If I summoned him, and he answered me, I would not believe that he would be listening to my voice --

"It is all one! That is why I say, 'He destroys the blameless and the guilty.'

They glide by like reed boats, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.

I dread all my sufferings, for I know that you do not hold me blameless.

For he is not a human being like I am, that I might answer him, that we might come together in judgment.

who would take his rod away from me so that his terror would not make me afraid.

that you must search out my iniquity, and inquire about my sin,

although you know that I am not guilty, and that there is no one who can deliver out of your hand?

Remember that you have made me as with the clay; will you return me to dust?

"But these things you have concealed in your heart; I know that this is with you:

Are not my days few? Cease, then, and leave me alone, that I may find a little comfort,

and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom -- for true wisdom has two sides -- so that you would know that God has forgiven some of your sins.

For you will forget your trouble; you will remember it like water that has flowed away.

Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this,

If only you would keep completely silent! For you, that would be wisdom.

"Refrain from talking with me so that I may speak; then let come to me what may.

See now, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right.

"O that you would hide me in Sheol, and conceal me till your anger has passed! O that you would set me a time and then remember me!

Does he argue with useless talk, with words that have no value in them?

What do you know that we don't know? What do you understand that we don't understand?

What is man that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

All his days the wicked man suffers torment, throughout the number of the years that are stored up for the tyrant.

he wanders about -- food for vultures; he knows that the day of darkness is at hand.

Will there be an end to your windy words? Or what provokes you that you answer?

For the years that lie ahead are few, and then I will go on the way of no return.

But even if it were true that I have erred, my error remains solely my concern!

know then that God has wronged me and encircled me with his net.

"O that my words were written down, O that they were written on a scroll,

that with an iron chisel and with lead they were engraved in a rock forever!

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that as the last he will stand upon the earth.

Fear the sword yourselves, for wrath brings the punishment by the sword, so that you may know that there is judgment."

When I hear a reproof that dishonors me, then my understanding prompts me to answer.

"Surely you know that it has been from old, ever since humankind was placed on the earth,

that the elation of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

His bones were full of his youthful vigor, but that vigor will lie down with him in the dust.

The wealth that he consumed he vomits up, God will make him throw it out of his stomach.

"Nothing is left for him to devour; that is why his prosperity does not last.

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain if we were to pray to him?'

You may say, 'God stores up a man's punishment for his children!' Instead let him repay the man himself so that he may know it!

Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges those that are on high?

that the evil man is spared from the day of his misfortune, that he is delivered from the day of God's wrath?

"Is it to God that a strong man is of benefit? Is it to him that even a wise man is profitable?

Is it of any special benefit to the Almighty that you should be righteous, or is it any gain to him that you make your ways blameless?

Is it because of your piety that he rebukes you and goes to judgment with you?

That is why snares surround you, and why sudden fear terrifies you,

Will you keep to the old path that evil men have walked --

O that I knew where I might find him, that I could come to his place of residence!

But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.

That is why I am terrified in his presence; when I consider, I am afraid because of him.

Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness, because of the thick darkness that covered my face.

"You say, 'He is foam on the face of the waters; their portion of the land is cursed so that no one goes to their vineyard.

"The dead tremble -- those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

I will never declare that you three are in the right; until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!

This is the portion of the wicked man allotted by God, the inheritance that evildoers receive from the Almighty.

The house he builds is as fragile as a moth's cocoon, like a hut that a watchman has made.

And he said to mankind, 'The fear of the Lord -- that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

"O that I could be as I was in the months now gone, in the days when God watched over me,

so that they had to live in the dry stream beds, in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.

I know that you are bringing me to death, to the meeting place for all the living.

For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, and it would uproot all my harvest.

so that my heart was secretly enticed, and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth,

because I was terrified of the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I remained silent and would not go outdoors --

"If only I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature -- let the Almighty answer me! If only I had an indictment that my accuser had written.

But when Elihu saw that the three men had no further reply, he became very angry.

So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up: "I am young, but you are elderly; that is why I was fearful, and afraid to explain to you what I know.

But it is a spirit in people, the breath of the Almighty, that makes them understand.

I will speak, so that I may find relief; I will open my lips, so that I may answer.

Why do you contend against him, that he does not answer all a person's words?

so that his life loathes food, and his soul rejects appetizing fare.

That person sings to others, saying: 'I have sinned and falsified what is right, but I was not punished according to what I deserved.

to turn back his life from the place of corruption, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

Do you really think that one who hates justice can govern? And will you declare guilty the supremely righteous One,

For he does not still consider a person, that he should come before God in judgment.

so that they caused the cry of the poor to come before him, so that he hears the cry of the needy.

so that the godless man should not rule, and not lay snares for the people.

Is it your opinion that God should recompense it, because you reject this? But you must choose, and not I, so tell us what you know.

that Job speaks without knowledge and his words are without understanding.

How much less, then, when you say that you do not perceive him, that the case is before him and you are waiting for him!

And further, when you say that his anger does not punish, and that he does not know transgression!

then he reveals to them what they have done, and their transgressions, that they were behaving proudly.

And he reveals this for correction, and says that they must turn from evil.

Be careful that no one entices you with riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside.

Would your wealth sustain you, so that you would not be in distress, even all your mighty efforts?

It is by these that he judges the nations and supplies food in abundance.

Listen carefully to the thunder of his voice, to the rumbling that proceeds from his mouth.

After that a voice roars; he thunders with an exalted voice, and he does not hold back his lightning bolts when his voice is heard.

He causes everyone to stop working, so that all people may know his work.

The clouds go round in circles, wheeling about according to his plans, to carry out all that he commands them over the face of the whole inhabited world.

Do you know about the balancing of the clouds, that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge?

Should he be informed that I want to speak? If a man speaks, surely he would be swallowed up!

that it might seize the corners of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?

Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea, or walked about in the recesses of the deep?