The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.

For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.

Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?

Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.

Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.

As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:

When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.

And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.

If thy children have sinned against him, and he have cast them away for their transgression;

If thou wert pure and upright; surely now he would awake for thee, and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, and prepare thyself to the search of their fathers:

(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:)

For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.

For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.

Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:

Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.

For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.

For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.

For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?

For vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt.

If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.

For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:

Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him?

Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?

He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him.

Who is he that will plead with me? for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up the ghost.

Withdraw thine hand far from me: and let not thy dread make me afraid.

Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and holdest me for thine enemy?

Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.

For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.

For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?

Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth: thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.

Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.

For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.

He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.

Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.

For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.

I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.

Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure.

O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!

My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me.

For thou hast hid their heart from understanding: therefore shalt thou not exalt them.

But as for you all, do ye return, and come now: for I cannot find one wise man among you.

And where is now my hope? as for my hope, who shall see it?

He teareth himself in his anger: shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place?

Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.

For he is cast into a net by his own feet, and he walketh upon a snare.

The snare is laid for him in the ground, and a trap for him in the way.

He hath put my brethren far from me, and mine acquaintance are verily estranged from me.

They that dwell in mine house, and my maids, count me for a stranger: I am an alien in their sight.

My breath is strange to my wife, though I intreated for the children's sake of mine own body.

Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.

That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.

Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.

That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

That which he laboured for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down: according to his substance shall the restitution be, and he shall not rejoice therein.

There shall none of his meat be left; therefore shall no man look for his goods.

All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?

Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.

Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.

Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it.

For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst?

For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?

Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?

For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.

Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;

Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?

Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.

For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me:

They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge.

Behold, as wild asses in the desert, go they forth to their work; rising betimes for a prey: the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their children.

They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face.

In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.

They are exalted for a little while, but are gone and brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

Dominion and fear are with him, he maketh peace in his high places.

For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul?

If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

For God shall cast upon him, and not spare: he would fain flee out of his hand.

Surely there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold where they fine it.

As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as it were fire.

It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.

The gold and the crystal cannot equal it: and the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.