Though while still, in its freshness, it be not plucked off, yet, before any kind of grass, it doth wither:

So, shall be the latter end of all who forget GOD, and, the hope of the impious, shall perish:

Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose trust shall be a spider's web.

He leaneth him upon his house, but he shall not stand; he holdeth him fast by it, yet shall he not endure.

By a heap his roots are wrapped, A house of stones he looketh for.

If he be destroyed from his place, Then it shall deny him,'saying , I have not seen thee.

Behold, God will not cast off a perfect man, neither will he take evil-doers by the hand.

The time will come when your mouth will be full of laughing, and cries of joy will come from your lips.

They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame; and the dwelling place of the wicked shall come to nought.

I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?

If he be pleased to contend with him, He cannot answer him one of a thousand.

He is wise in heart and strong in will who can be stubborn against him and succeed?

He translateth the mountains, before they be aware, and overthroweth them in his wrath.

Stretching out the heavens by Himself, And treading on the heights of the sea,

Who does great things not to be searched out; yes, wonders without number.

Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.

If he puts out his hand to take, by whom may it be turned back? who may 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.

Even if my cause was good, I would not be able to give an answer; I would make request for grace from him who was against me.

If I summoned Him and He answered me,
I do not believe He would pay attention to what I said.

For I would be crushed by his storm, my wounds would be increased without cause.

He would not let me take my breath, but I would be full of bitter grief.

Be it a question of strength, lo, he is strong; and be it of judgment, who will set me a time?

Though I be righteous, mine own mouth shall condemn me: Though I be perfect, it shall prove me perverse.

For though I be an innocent, and my conscience clear, yea am I weary of my life.

The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; He covereth the faces of the judges thereof: If it be not he , who then is it?

My days fly by faster than a runner;
they flee without seeing any good.

They pass by like skiffs of reed; as an eagle that swoops upon the prey.

If I say, I will forget my complaint, I will put off my'sad countenance, and be of good cheer;

I am afraid of all my pains and worries [yet to come];
I know that You will not acquit me and leave me unpunished.

If I be wicked, why then labour I in vain?

I could speak, and not be afraid of him, although, not so, am, I, in myself!

What profit is it to you to be cruel, to give up the work of your hands, looking kindly on the design of evil-doers?

Though it is, within thine own knowledge, that I would not be lawless, and, none, out of thy hand, can deliver?

Your hands made me, and I was formed by you, but then, changing your purpose, you gave me up to destruction.

By you I was clothed with skin and flesh, and joined together with bones and muscles.

If I had sinned, then you would be watching me, and you would not acquit me of my guilt.

If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet will I not lift up my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see thou mine affliction;

‘Should my head be lifted up, You would hunt me like a lion;
And again You would show Your power against me.

‘You renew Your witnesses against me
And increase Your indignation and anger toward me;
Hardship after hardship is with me [attacking me time after time].

I should be as though I had not been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave.

Are not the days of my life small in number? Let your eyes be turned away from me, so that I may have a little pleasure,

Should not the multitude of words be answered? and should a man full of talk be justified?

Shall, thy pratings, cause men to hold their peace? When thou hast mocked, shall there be none to put thee to shame?

And that he would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, how that they are the double of what is realised; and know that +God passeth by much of thine iniquity!

Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?

If he pass by, and shut up, and call to judgment, who can hinder him?

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:

For you will forget your suffering,
recalling it only as waters that have flowed by.

And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.

And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.

Sleeping with no fear of danger; and men will be desiring to have grace in your eyes;

But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.

I am to be one that is a derision to his friend, I who call upon +God, and whom he will answer: a derision is the just upright man.

There is wealth in the tents of those who make destruction, and those by whom God is moved to wrath are safe; even those whose god is their strength.

Who does not see by all these that the hand of the Lord has done this?

Are not words tested by the ear, even as food is tasted by the mouth?

"Wisdom may be found in the company of the aged. Understanding comes with longevity.

Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again: he shutteth up a man, and there can be no opening.

“He makes [great and scheming] counselors walk barefoot
And makes fools of judges.

“He loosens the bond of kings
And binds their loins with a loincloth.

But indeed, I, unto the Almighty, would speak, and, to direct my argument unto GOD, would I be well pleased.

O that ye would altogether hold your peace! and it should be your wisdom.

"Now listen to my dispute! Pay attention to my arguments.

“Will you show partiality for Him [and be unjust to me so that you may gain favor with Him]?
Will you contend and plead for God?

Will it be well if he should search you out? or as one mocketh at a man, will ye mock at him?

"He will be sure to rebuke you, if you show partiality in secret.

Will not his glory put you in fear, so that your hearts will be overcome before him?

Your remembrance shall be like unto the dust, and your pride shall be turned to clay.

Be quiet, and I will speak.
Let whatever comes happen to me.

Lo! he may slay me, yet , for him, will I wait, - Nevertheless, my ways - unto his face, will I show to be right:

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

Hear diligently my speech, And let my declaration be in your ears.

Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.

Who [is] he who will contend with me? For {then} I would be silent, and I would pass away.

Take your hand far away from me; and let me not be overcome by fear of you.

Will you be hard on a leaf in flight before the wind? will you make a dry stem go more quickly on its way?

“For You write bitter things against me [in Your indictment]
And make me inherit and suffer for the iniquities of my youth.

So I waste away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.

Human beings born by women are short-lived and full of trouble.

And as a flower he will come forth, and will be cut down: and he will flee as a shadow, and shall not stand.

Let your eyes be turned away from him, and take your hand from him, so that he may have pleasure at the end of his day, like a servant working for payment.

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.

Though its root may be old in the earth, and its cut-off end may be dead in the dust;

"But when a person dies and wastes away, when a person breathes his last, where will he be?

The floods when they be dried up, and the rivers when they be empty, are filled again through the flowing waters of the sea:

So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!

If death takes a man, will he come to life again? All the days of my trouble I would be waiting, till the time came for me to be free.

For now my steps are numbered by you, and my sin is not overlooked.

My transgression would be sealed in a bag, and you would cover over my guilt.

But as a mountain falls away and crumbles, and as a rock will be removed from its place,

The stones are crushed small by the force of the waters; the dust of the earth is washed away by their overflowing: and so you put an end to the hope of man.

Whether his children come to worship or no, he cannot tell: And if they be men of low degree, he knoweth not.

While he liveth, his flesh must have travail: And while the soul is in him, he must be in sorrow."

"Should a wise man's answer be as the science of the wind, and fill his belly with the wind of the east?

Reproving with words he shall not profit, and speeches will be of no use in them.

Truly, you make the fear of God without effect, so that the time of quiet worship before God is made less by your outcry.