“Or like a miscarriage which is hidden and put away, I would not exist,
Like infants who never saw light.

“There the prisoners rest together;
They do not hear the taskmaster’s voice.

“As I have seen, those who plow wickedness
And those who sow trouble and harm harvest it.

‘Is not their tent-cord drawn up within them [so that the tent collapses]?
Do they not die, and yet without [acquiring] wisdom?’

“I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering],
But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

“His children are far from safety [and included in their father’s ruin],
They are oppressed and crushed in the [court of justice in the city’s] gate,
And there is no one to rescue them.

So that He sets on high those who are lowly,
And He lifts to safety those who mourn.

“He frustrates the devices and schemes of the crafty,
So that their hands cannot attain success or achieve anything of [lasting] worth.

“He catches the [so-called] wise in their own shrewdness,
And the advice of the devious is quickly thwarted.

“So the helpless have hope,
And injustice shuts its mouth.

“Behold, how happy and fortunate is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise or reject the discipline of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering].

“Oh, that my grief could actually be weighed
And placed in the balances together with my tragedy [to see if my grief is the grief of a coward]!

“For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
Therefore my words have been incoherent,

“Indeed, you have now become like a dried-up stream,
You see a terror [believing me to be a victim of the wrath of God] and are afraid [to be compassionate].

“Did I ever say, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Pay a bribe for me from your wealth,’

Or, ‘Rescue me from the adversary’s hand,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

So am I allotted months of futility and suffering,
And [long] nights of trouble and misery are appointed to me.

“When I lie down I say,
‘When shall I arise [and the night be gone]?’
But the night continues,
And I am continually tossing until the dawning of day.

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And are spent without hope.

“Remember that my life is but breath [a puff of wind, a sigh];
My eye will not see good again.

“The eye of him who sees me [now] will see me no more;
Your eyes will be upon me, but I will not be.

“As a cloud vanishes and is gone,
So he who goes down to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) does not come up.

“Am I the sea, or the sea monster,
That You set a guard over me?

“When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
My couch will ease my complaint,’

So that I would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my pain.

“If I have sinned, what [harm] have I done to You,
O Watcher of mankind?
Why have You set me as a target for You,
So that I am a burden to myself?

“How long will you say these things?
And will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

“So are the paths of all who forget God;
And the hope of the godless will perish,

For his confidence is fragile and breaks,
And his trust is [like] a spider’s web.

“His [godless] roots are wrapped around a pile of rocks,
And he gazes at a house of stones.

“Behold, this is the joy of His way;
And from out of the dust others will spring up and grow [to take his place].

Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the waves of the sea;

“Behold, He passes by me, and I do not see Him;
He moves past me, but I do not perceive Him.

“Behold, He snatches away; who can restrain or turn Him back?
Who will say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’

“God will not turn back His anger;
The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.

“It is all one; therefore I say,
‘He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.’

“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;
He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].
If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?

“Now my days are swifter than a runner;
They vanish, they see no good.

“If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will leave off my sad appearance, and be cheerful and brighten up,’

You would still plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes would hate me [and refuse to cover my foul body].

“Then I would speak [my defense] and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.

“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me [and declare me guilty]!
Show me why You contend and argue and struggle with me.

‘Do You have eyes of flesh?
Do You see as a man sees?

‘Are Your days as the days of a mortal,
Are Your years as man’s years,

“For you have said, ‘My teaching (doctrine) [that God knowingly afflicts the righteous] is pure,
And I am innocent in your eyes.’

“It is longer in measure [and scope] than the earth,
And broader than the sea.

“But a hollow (empty-headed) man will become intelligent and wise
[Only] when the colt of a wild donkey is born as a man.

“You would lie down with no one to frighten you,
And many would entreat and seek your favor.

“But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these [of God’s wisdom and might]?

Or speak to the earth [with its many forms of life], and it will teach you;
And let the fish of the sea declare [this truth] to you.

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]
That the hand of the Lord has done this,

“With the aged [you say] is wisdom,
And with long life is understanding.

“But I wish to speak to the Almighty,
And I desire to argue with God.

“Be silent before me so that I may speak;
And let happen to me what may.

“Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
And put my life in my hands [incurring the wrath of God]?

“How many are my iniquities and sins [that so much sorrow should come to me]?
Make me recognize and understand my transgression and my sin.

“Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You [in Your control],
And You have made his limits so he cannot pass [his allotted time].

“[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.

So man lies down and does not rise [again].
Until the heavens are no longer,
The dead will not awake nor be raised from their sleep.

Water wears away the stones,
Its floods and torrents wash away the soil of the earth,
So You [O Lord] destroy the hope of man.

“Are the consolations of God [as we have interpreted them to you] too trivial for you,
[Or] were we too gentle toward you [in our first speech] to be effective?

“He does not believe that he will return out of the darkness [for fear of being murdered],
And he is destined for the sword [of God’s vengeance].

“Is there no end to [your futile] words of wind?
Or what plagues you [so much] that you [so boldly] answer [me like this]?

“God hands me over to criminals
And tosses me [headlong] into the hands of the wicked.

“His arrows surround me.
He pierces my kidneys (vital organs) without mercy;
He pours out my gall on the ground.

“These [thoughts try to] make the night into the day;
‘The light is near,’ they say in the presence of darkness [but they pervert the truth].

If I call out to the pit (grave), ‘You are my father’;
And to the worm [that feeds on decay], ‘You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],’

Where now is my hope?
And who regards or considers or is even concerned about my hope?

“He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,
And He has set darkness upon my paths.

“Even after my [mortal] skin is destroyed [by death],
Yet from my [immortal] flesh I will see God,

Whom I, even I, will see for myself,
And my eyes will see Him and not another!
My heart faints within me.

“If you say, ‘How shall we [continue to] persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?’

Yet he perishes forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’

“The eye which saw him sees him no longer,
Neither does his [accustomed] place behold him any longer.

“He sucks the poison of vipers [which ill-gotten wealth contains];
The viper’s tongue slays him.

“The produce and increase of his house will depart [with the victors];
His possessions will be dragged away in the day of God’s wrath.

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

“Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

“But notice, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their hand (in their power);
The counsel of the wicked [and the mystery of God’s dealings with the ungodly] is far from my comprehension.

“You say, ‘God stores away [the punishment of] man’s wickedness for his children.’
Let God repay him so that he may know and experience it.

“Let his own eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

“For you say, ‘Where is the house of the noble man?
And where is the tent, the dwelling place of the wicked?’

“That evil men are [now] reserved for the day of disaster and destruction,
They will be led away on the day of [God’s] wrath?

“But who will confront him with his actions and rebuke him face to face,
And who will repay him for what he has done?

Or darkness, so that you cannot see,
And a flood of water covers you.

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

‘Thick clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks on the vault (circle) of the heavens.’

“Will you keep to the ancient path
That wicked men walked [in the time of Noah],

“The righteous see it and are glad;
And the innocent mock and laugh at them, saying,

“You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways.

“When you are cast down and humbled, you will speak with confidence,
And the humble person He will lift up and save.

“I would learn the words which He would answer,
And understand what He would say to me.

“There the righteous and upright could reason with Him;
So I would be acquitted forever by my Judge.

To the left (north) He turns, but I cannot behold Him;
He turns to the right hand (south), but I cannot see Him.

“Why does the Almighty not set seasons for judgment?
Why do those who know Him not see His days [for punishment of the wicked]?

“They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;
They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

“They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing,
And they take away the sheaves [of grain] from the hungry.

“The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me,’
And he covers his face.

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

“Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.