For they have made low, And thou sayest, 'Lift up.' And the bowed down of eyes he saveth.

“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.”

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

"For though I go before, I find him not; If I come behind, I can get no knowledge of him;

I am looking for him on the left hand, but there is no sign of him; and turning to the right, I am not able to see him.

For He hath known the way with me, He hath tried me -- as gold I go forth.

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

For this cause I am in fear before him, my thoughts of him overcome me.

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

For I have not been cut off before darkness, And before me He covered thick darkness.

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

The wicked displace boundary markers.
They steal a flock and provide pasture for it.

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.

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

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

“From the [populous and crowded] city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out for help;
Yet God [seemingly] does not pay attention to the wrong [done to them].

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.

"The ungodly is very swift: O that his portion also upon earth were swifter than the running water, which suffereth not the shipman to behold the fair and pleasant vineyards.

O that they, for the wickedness which they have done, were drawn to the hell, sooner than snow melteth at the heat.

He is not kind to the widow, and he has no pity for her child.

They pluck down the mighty with their power, and when they themselves are gotten up, they are never without fear, as long as they live.

He takes away his fear of danger and gives him support; and his eyes are on his ways.

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.

And if not now, who will cause me to lie, and set my words for nought?

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

Is it possible for his armies to be numbered? and on whom is not his light shining?

How then is it possible for man to be upright before God? or how may he be clean who is a son of woman?

Look as far as the moon, and it is not clear, and, the stars, are not bright in his eyes!

{How much less} for a human being [who is] a maggot, and {a human} [who is] a worm?"

How didst thou counsel to him of no wisdom? and didst thou make known help for abundance?

For whom hast thou uttered words? and whose spirit came from thee?

Sheol [is] naked before him, and there is no covering for Abaddon.

A, boundary, hath he encircled on the face of the waters, as far as where light ends in darkness;

By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

(For my life is yet whole in me, And the spirit of God is in my nostrils);

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

“I hold fast my uprightness and my right standing with God and I will not let them go;
My heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

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

All of you have seen this for yourselves,
why do you keep up this empty talk?

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

Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
yet their widows will not weep for them.

He may get them ready, but the upright will put them on, and he who is free from sin will take the silver for a heritage.

“He builds his house like a spider’s web,
Like a (temporary) hut which a watchman makes.

He goes to rest full of wealth, but does so for the last time: on opening his eyes, he sees it there no longer.

“The east wind carries him away, and he is gone,
For it whirls him away from his place.

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.

Iron is taken out of the earth, and stone is changed into brass by the fire.

“Man puts an end to darkness [by bringing in a light],
And to the farthest bounds he searches out
The rock buried in gloom and deep shadow.

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.

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

He cuts a channel through the rocks, while his eyes search for anything of value.

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

It cannot be bought for the gold of Ophir, for precious onyx or sapphire.

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

No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.

The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be bought for pure gold.

For it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the fowl of the heavens.

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

To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.

When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder:

Then He saw wisdom and declared it;
He established it and searched it out.

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

When my steps [through rich pastures] were washed with butter and cream [from my livestock],
And the rock poured out for me streams of oil [from my olive groves].

“When I went out to the gate of the city,
When I took my seat [as a city father] in the square,

For when the ear heard me , then it blessed me; And when the eye saw me , it gave witness unto me:

For I delivered the afflicted that cried, and the fatherless who had no helper.

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

I served as eyes for the blind and feet for the lame.

A father, was, I, to the needy, and, as for the cause which I knew not, I used to search it out;

My root, is laid open to the waters, and, the dew, shall lodge for the night in my boughs;

My glory renews for me and my bow is as good as new in my hand.'

Unto me men gave ear, and waited, And kept silence for my counsel.

And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.

I smiled for them [when] they had no confidence [in anything], and they did not extinguish the light of my face.

“I chose a way for them and sat as chief,
And dwelt as a king among his soldiers,
As one who comforts mourners.

"But now [those] younger than I, as far as days, laugh at me, whose fathers I rejected for setting with the dogs of my sheep and goats.

The power and strength of their hands might do me no good, and as for their age, it is spent and past away without any profit.

For want and famine they were solitary; fleeing into the wilderness in former time desolate and waste.

Who cut up mallows by the bushes, and juniper roots for their meat.

And now, their song I have been, And I am to them for a byword.

They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face.

For he hath loosed his cord, and afflicted me; And they have cast off the bridle before me.

"A wretched crowd ambushes me to my right; they trip my feet; they build up their path of calamity for me.

and my path have they clean marred. It was so easy for them to do me harm, that they needed no man to help them.

I cry to you for help, but you do not answer me; I stand, and you [merely] look at me.

Thou wilt turn to be cruel to me: with the strength of thy hand thou wilt lie in wait for me.

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

Howbeit doth not one stretch out the hand in his fall? Or in his calamity therefore cry for help?

Did not I weep for him that was in trouble? was not my soul grieved for the poor?

When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness.

I'm boiling mad inside, and I won't remain silent; the time for my affliction to confront me has arrived.

I go mourning without the sun: I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.

I am a companion for [the] jackals and a companion for {ostriches}.

So my lyre came to be [used] for mourning, and my flute [for the] voice of [those who] weep.

A covenant I made for mine eyes, And what -- do I attend to a virgin?