“Indeed, you are doing away with fear,
And you are diminishing meditation before God.

“For your guilt teaches your mouth,
And you choose [to speak] the language of the crafty and cunning.

“Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.

“Were you the first man to be born [the original wise man],
Or were you created before the hills?

“Do you hear the secret counsel of God,
And do you limit [the possession of] wisdom to yourself?

“Among us are both the gray-haired and the aged,
Older than your father.

“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?

“Why does your heart carry you away [allowing you to be controlled by emotion]?
And why do your eyes flash [in anger or contempt],

That you should turn your spirit against God
And let such words [as you have spoken] go out of your mouth?

“Behold, God puts no trust in His holy ones (angels);
Indeed, the heavens are not pure in His sight—

To whom alone the land was given,
And no stranger passed among them [corrupting the truth].

“The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
And numbered are the years stored up for him, the ruthless one.

“A [dreadful] sound of terrors is in his ears;
While at peace and in a time of prosperity the destroyer comes upon him [the tent of the robber is not at peace].

“He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that the day of darkness and destruction is already at hand.

And he has lived in desolate [God-forsaken] cities,
In houses which no one should inhabit,
Which were destined to become heaps [of ruins];

“I have heard many such things;
Wearisome and miserable comforters are you all.

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

“I also could speak like you,
If you were in my place;
I could compose and join words together against you
And shake my head at you.

“[But instead] I could strengthen and encourage you with [the words of] my mouth,
And the consolation and solace of my lips would soothe your suffering and lessen your anguish.

“If I speak [to you miserable comforters], my pain is not relieved;
And if I refrain [from speaking], what [pain or anguish] leaves me?

“You have taken a firm hold on me and have shriveled me up,
It has become a witness [against me];
And my leanness [and infirmity] rises up [as evidence] against me,
It testifies to my face [about my guilt].

“My face is red and swollen with weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death [my eyes are dimmed],

Although there is no violence or wrongdoing in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.

“O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no [resting] place for my cry [where it will cease being heard].

“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]
Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.

“For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way of no return.

“My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished,
The grave is ready for me.

“Surely there are mockers and mockery with me,
And my eye gazes on their obstinacy and provocation.

“My eye has grown dim (unexpressive) because of grief,
And all my [body’s] members are [wasted away] like a shadow.

“My days are past, my purposes and plans are frustrated and torn apart;
The wishes of my heart [are broken].

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?

“How long will you hunt for words and continue these speeches?
Do some clear thinking and show understanding and then we can talk.

“Why are we regarded as beasts,
As if [we are] stupid (senseless) in your eyes?

“You who tear yourself apart in anger,
Is the earth to be abandoned for your sake,
Or the rock to be moved out of its place?

“He has no offspring or prosperity among his people,
Nor any survivor where he sojourned.

“Those in the west are astonished and appalled at his fate,
And those in the east are seized with horror.

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and the ungodly,
And such is the place of him who does not know or recognize or honor God.”

“These ten times you have insulted me;
You are not ashamed to wrong me [and harden your hearts against me].

“And if it were true that I have erred,
My error would remain with me [and I would be conscious of it].

“He has put my brothers far from me,
And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

“All the men of my council hate me;
Those I love have turned against me.

“My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped [death] by the skin of my teeth.

“Why do you persecute me as God does?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)?

“Oh, that the words I now speak were written!
Oh, that they were recorded in a scroll!

“That with an iron stylus and [molten] lead
They were engraved in the rock forever!

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

“Then beware and be afraid of the sword [of divine vengeance] for yourselves,
For wrathful are the punishments of that sword,
So that you may know there is judgment.”

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

“His bones are full of youthful strength
But it lies down with him in the dust.

“The arrow is drawn forth and it comes out of his back [after passing through his body];
Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall.
Terrors march in upon him;

“Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be the consolation.

“As for me, is my complaint to man or about him?
And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?

“Look at me and be astonished and appalled;
And put your hand over your mouth.

“Their children and descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.

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

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

“Are they like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that the storm steals and carries away?

“For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead,
When the number of his months [of life] is cut off?

“Can anyone teach God knowledge,
Seeing that He judges those on high?

His pails are full of milk [his sides are filled out with fat],
And the marrow of his bones is moist,

Whereas another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting pleasure or good fortune.

“Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plots by which you would wrong me.

“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?

“The [dirt] clods of the valley are sweet to him [and gently cover him],
Moreover, all men will follow after him [to a grave],
While countless ones go before him.

“How then can you vainly comfort me with empty words,
Since your answers remain untrue?”

“Is it any pleasure or joy to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it of benefit to Him that you make your ways perfect?

“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
That He enters into judgment against you?

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

“For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,
And stripped men naked.

“Therefore snares surround you,
And sudden dread terrifies and overwhelms you;

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

“Is not God in the height of heaven?
And behold the distant stars, how high they are!

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

Men who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundations were poured out like a river?

“They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do for us or to us?’

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

‘Surely our adversaries are cut off and destroyed,
And fire has consumed their abundance.’

“Please receive the law and instruction from His mouth
And establish His words in your heart and keep them.

“If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored];
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents,

And make the Almighty your gold
And your precious silver,

Then you will have delight in the Almighty,
And you will lift up your face to God.

“You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.

“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.

“He will even rescue the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent;
And he will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands.”

“Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might [even] come to His seat!

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 are wet from the rain of the mountains
And cling to the rock for lack of shelter.

“Others snatch the fatherless [infants] from the breast [to sell or make them slaves],
And against the poor they take a pledge [of clothing].

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

“For the morning is the same to him as the thick darkness [of midnight];
For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

“God gives them security, and they are supported;
And His eyes are on their ways.

“They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone;
Moreover, they are brought low and like everything [they are] gathered up and taken out of the way;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

“Dominion and awe belong to God;
He establishes peace and order in His high places.

“How then can man be justified and righteous with God?
Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?

“Behold, even the moon has no brightness [compared to God’s majesty and glory]
And the stars are not pure in His sight,

“It is He who spreads out the north over emptiness
And hangs the earth on nothing.

“The pillars of the heavens tremble
And are terrified at His rebuke.