Before I go whence I shall not return, Even to the land of darkness and of the shadow of death;

It is high as heaven; what canst thou do? Deeper than Sheol; what canst thou know?

But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, And they shall have no way to flee; And their hope shall be the giving up of the ghost.

No doubt but ye are the people, And wisdom shall die with you.

But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: Yea, who knoweth not such things as these?

I am as one that is a laughing-stock to his neighbor, I who called upon God, and he answered: The just, the perfect man is a laughing-stock.

Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

He uncovereth deep things out of darkness, And bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

He taketh away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth, And causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way.

They grope in the dark without light; And he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

What ye know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior unto you.

Surely I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God.

Hear now my reasoning, And hearken to the pleadings of my lips.

Will ye show partiality to him? Will ye contend for God?

He will surely reprove you If ye do secretly show partiality.

Only do not two things unto me; Then will I not hide myself from thy face:

How many are mine iniquities and sins? Make me to know my transgression and my sin.

For thou writest bitter things against me, And makest me to inherit the iniquities of my youth:

Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, And markest all my paths; Thou settest a bound to the soles of my feet:

Look away from him, that he may rest, Till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.

Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, And the stock thereof die in the ground;

If a man die, shall he live again ? All the days of my warfare would I wait, Till my release should come.

Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee: Thou wouldest have a desire to the work of thy hands.

But the mountain falling cometh to nought; And the rock is removed out of its place;

His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; And they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.

Should he reason with unprofitable talk, Or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?

Hast thou heard the secret counsel of God? And dost thou limit wisdom to thyself?

Are the consolations of God too small for thee, Even the word that is gentle toward thee?

Why doth thy heart carry thee away? And why do thine eyes flash,

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

Distress and anguish make him afraid; They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

And he hath dwelt in desolate cities, In houses which no man inhabited, Which were ready to become heaps;

I also could speak as ye do; If your soul were in my soul's stead, I could join words together against you, And shake my head at you.

And thou hast laid fast hold on me, which is a witness against me : And my leanness riseth up against me, It testifieth to my face.

God delivereth me to the ungodly, And casteth me into the hands of the wicked.

I was at ease, and he brake me asunder; Yea, he hath taken me by the neck, and dashed me to pieces: He hath also set me up for his mark.

They change the night into day: The light,'say they , is near unto the darkness.

If I have said to corruption, Thou art my father; To the worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister;

It shall go down to the bars of Sheol, When once there is rest in the dust.

He shall be rooted out of his tent where he trusteth; And he shall be brought to the king of terrors.

They that come after shall be astonished at his day, As they that went before were affrighted.

My breath is strange to my wife, And my supplication to the children of mine own mother.

My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, And I am escaped with the skin of my teeth.

Why do ye persecute me as God, And are not satisfied with my flesh?

Therefore do my thoughts give answer to me, Even by reason of my haste that is in me.

I have heard the reproof which putteth me to shame; And the spirit of my understanding answereth me.

Though his height mount up to the heavens, And his head reach unto the clouds;

That which he labored for shall he restore, and shall not swallow it down; According to the substance that he hath gotten, he shall not rejoice.

When he is about to fill his belly, God will cast the fierceness of his wrath upon him, And will rain it upon him while he is eating.

The increase of his house shall depart; His goods'shall flow away in the day of his wrath.

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

Wherefore do the wicked live, Become old, yea, wax mighty in power?

They sing to the timbrel and harp, And rejoice at the sound of the pipe.

They spend their days in prosperity, And in a moment they go down to Sheol.

Have ye not asked wayfaring men? And do ye not know their evidences,

That the evil man is reserved to the day of calamity? That they are led forth to the day of wrath?

Who shall declare his way to his face? And who shall repay him what he hath done?

Yet shall he be borne to the grave, And men shall keep watch over the tomb.

Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? Or is it gain to him , that thou makest thy ways perfect?

Is not thy wickedness great? Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.

Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not; And he walketh on the vault of heaven.

Who said unto God, Depart from us; And, What can the Almighty do for us?

The righteous see it, and are glad; And the innocent laugh them to scorn,

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

Even to-day is my complaint rebellious: My stroke is heavier than my groaning.

Oh that I knew where I might find him! That I might come even to his seat!

My foot hath held fast to his steps; His way have I kept, and turned not aside.

Why are times not laid up by the Almighty? And why do not they that know him see his days?

Behold, as wild asses in the desert They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness yieldeth them bread for their children.

In the dark they dig through houses: They shut themselves up in the day-time; They know not the light.

For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness; For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.

He devoureth the barren that beareth not, And doeth not good to the widow.

God giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon; And his eyes are upon their ways.

To whom hast thou uttered words? And whose spirit came forth from thee?

Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways: And how small a whisper do we hear of him! But the thunder of his power who can understand?

Far be it from me that I should justify you: Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.

He lieth down rich, but he shall not be gathered to his fathers ; He openeth his eyes, and he is not.

Man'setteth an end to darkness, And searcheth out, to the furthest bound, The stones of obscurity and of thick darkness.

He breaketh open a shaft away from where men sojourn; They are forgotten of the foot; They hang afar from men, they swing to and fro.

He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; And the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

For he looketh to the ends of the earth, And seeth under the whole heaven;

To make a weight for the wind: Yea, he meteth out the waters by measure.

And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.

When I went forth to the gate unto the city, When I prepared my seat in the street,

The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.

Because I delivered the poor that cried, The fatherless also, that had none to help him.

The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.

I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame.

I was a father to the needy: And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.

Then I said, I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand:

My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lieth all night upon my branch;

But now they that are younger than I have me in derision, Whose fathers I disdained to set with the dogs of my flock.

They abhor me, they stand aloof from me, And spare not to spit in my face.

Thou art turned to be cruel to me; With the might of thy hand thou persecutest me.

Thou liftest me up to the wind, thou causest me to ride upon it ; And thou dissolvest me in the storm.

For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.

I am a brother to jackals, And a companion to ostriches.

Therefore is my harp turned to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of them that weep.

Is it not calamity to the unrighteous, And disaster to the workers of iniquity?