Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

Why died I not from the womb? why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?

Wherefore have knees been before me? And what are breasts, that I suck?

For now should I have lain still and been quiet, I should have slept: then had I been at rest,

along with kings and counselors of the earth, who used to build for themselves what are now only ruins,

Or as a child dead at birth I might never have come into existence; like young children who have not seen the light.

There the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest.

There the prisoners are at ease together; They hear not the voice of the taskmaster.

Which long for death, but it cometh not; and dig for it more than for hid treasures;

and search for it more than for treasure. Which also would be exceedingly glad, and rejoice if they found their grave.

For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.

For I feared a fear, and it hath come upon me, and that which I dreaded hath come to me.

I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came.

“If we dare to converse with you, will you be impatient [or offended]?
But who can restrain himself from speaking?

But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

"Your fear of God has been your confidence, hasn't it? The integrity of your life has been your hope, hasn't it?

As I have seen -- ploughers of iniquity, And sowers of misery, reap it!

They perish at a single blast from God
and come to an end by the breath of His nostrils.

Notwithstanding the roaring of the lion, and the noise of the howling lion, yet, the teeth of the fierce lions, are broken:

The strong lion dies if it catches no prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

And unto me a thing is secretly brought, And receive doth mine ear a little of it.

Amid troubling thoughts from night visions, at [the] falling of deep sleep on men,

dread met me, and trembling, and it made many of my bones shake.

Then a breath of air passes by my face; it makes the hair of my flesh stand up.

It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

Their wealth perishes with them, doesn't it? They die, and do so without having wisdom, don't they?"

Call out if you please. Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones will you turn to?

His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,
with no one to rescue them.

Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.

Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

Yet I -- I inquire for God, And for God I give my word,

Who is giving rain on the face of the land, And is sending waters on the out-places.

He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, and their hands carry not out the enterprise.

They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night.

But he saveth from the sword, out of their mouth, and, out of the hand of the strong, the needy.

So the poor hath what he hopeth for, and unrighteousness stoppeth her mouth.

He delivereth thee out of six troubles, so that in the seventh there can no harm touch thee.

In the midst of hunger he saveth thee from death: and when it is war, from the power of the sword.

Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.

At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

And you will be certain that your tent is at peace, and after looking over your property you will see that nothing is gone.

Thou shalt come, yet robust, to the grave, as a stack of sheaves mounteth up in its season.

Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.

"If only my vexation could be well weighed, and my calamity could be lifted up together [with it] in [the] balances,

For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.

Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
My spirit drinks their poison;
The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

“Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass?
Or does the ox low over his fodder?

Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

What my soul refuseth to touch, that is as my loathsome food.

If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:

Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.

What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?

Is it not that I have no help in me, And that wisdom is driven quite from me?

My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow

which are growing dark because of ice upon them, it will pile up snow.

What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

The camel-trains go out of their way; they go up into the waste and come to destruction.

Behold the paths of Tema; the goings of Sheba, wait ye for them.

They are ashamed at their hope; they come thither, and are confounded.

So this is what you have now become to me.
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.

Is it because I said, Give to me? And, By your power bribe for me?

Or, Get me out of the power of my hater? or, Give money so that I may be free from the power of the cruel ones?

Shew me, and I -- I keep silent, And what I have erred, let me understand.

How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?

Truly, you are such as would give up the child of a dead man to his creditors, and would make a profit out of your friend.

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

Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it.

“Is there injustice or malice on my tongue?
Can my palate not discern what is destructive?

As the servant will gape for the shadow, and as the hireling will wait for his work:

When I go to my bed, I say, When will it be time to get up? but the night is long, and I am turning from side to side till morning light.

My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; My skin closeth up, and breaketh out afresh.

Consumed hath been a cloud, and it goeth, So he who is going down to Sheol cometh not up.

So I will not keep my mouth shut; I will let the words come from it in the pain of my spirit, my soul will make a bitter outcry.

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

What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?

How long will it be before your eyes are turned away from me, so that I may have a minute's breathing-space?

I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?

“Why then do You not pardon my transgression
And take away my sin and guilt?
For now I will lie down in the dust;
And You will seek me [diligently], but I will not be.”

Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?

Yet, if, thou thyself, wilt diligently seek unto GOD, - and, unto the Almighty, wilt make supplication;

Though thy beginning was small, yet thy latter end should greatly increase.

For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age, And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out:

Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee, and utter words out of their heart?

Will the river-plant come up in its pride without wet earth? will the grass get tall without water?

Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb.

Even so goeth it with all them that forget God: and even thus also shall the hypocrite's hope come to naught.

His source of confidence is fragile;
what he trusts in is a spider’s web.

He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand: he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.

Green he is before the sun, And over his garden his branch goeth out.

It wraps its roots around a heap of stones and it looks for a place among stones.

If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.

Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth shall others grow.

He will yet fill thy mouth with laughter, And thy lips with shouting.

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

If a man was desiring to go to law with him, he would not be able to give him an answer to one out of a thousand questions.

Wise in heart and strong in power -- Who hath hardened toward Him and is at peace?