And after my skin, even this body , is destroyed, Then without my flesh shall I see God;

Whom I, even I, shall see, on my side, And mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger. My heart is consumed within me.

But ye should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?

Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment.

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

That the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?

Though he is lifted up to the heavens, and his head goes up to the clouds;

Yet he shall perish for ever like his own dung: they which have seen him shall say, Where is he?

He shall fly away as a dream, and shall not be found: yea, he shall be chased away as a vision of the night.

“Though evil and wickedness are sweet in his mouth
And he hides it under his tongue,

Though he desires it and will not let it go
But holds it in his mouth,

Yet his meat in his bowels is turned, it is the gall of asps within him.

He takes down wealth as food, and sends it up again; it is forced out of his stomach by God.

He takes the poison of snakes into his mouth, the tongue of the snake is the cause of his death.

He is giving back what he laboured for, And doth not consume it; As a bulwark is his exchange, and he exults not.

Because his appetite is never satisfied,
he does not let anything he desires escape.

There is not a remnant to his food, Therefore his good doth not stay.

In the fulness of his sufficiency he shall be in straits: The hand of every one that is in misery shall come upon him.

When he is about to fill his belly, God shall cast the fury of his wrath upon him, and shall rain it upon him while he is eating.

It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him.

All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

Reveal do the heavens his iniquity, And earth is raising itself against him.

The produce of his house is taken away into another country, like things given into the hands of others in the day of wrath.

This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed unto him by God.

Hear ye diligently my word, And this is your consolation.

Let me say what is in my mind, and after that, go on making sport of me.

As for me, is my complaint to man? and if it were so, why should not my spirit be troubled?

At the very thought of it my flesh is shaking with fear.

Why is life given to the evil-doers? why do they become old and strong in power?

Their seed is established in their sight with them, and their offspring before their eyes.

Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.

Their ox is ready at all times to give seed; their cow gives birth, without dropping her young.

They send forth as a flock their sucklings, And their children skip,

They rejoice aloud as with timbrel and lyre, and make merry to the sound of the pipe;

They grow old in prosperity, as they descend peacefully into the afterlife.

Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.

What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?

Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger.

They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away.

For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst?

Can any teach God knowledge? And he it is that judgeth those that are high.

One dieth now when he is mighty and at his best, rich and in prosperity;

His pails are full of milk, And the marrow of his bones is moistened.

For ye say, Where is the house of the prince? and where are the dwelling places of the wicked?

That the wicked is reserved to the day of destruction? they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath.

Yet is he carried to the graves, and watch is kept over the tomb.

The clods of the valley shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him.

So how will you comfort me [with] emptiness, when fraud is left [in] your answers?"

Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?

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

Is it for thy fear of him that he reproveth thee, That he entereth with thee into judgment?

Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?

To such as were weary, hast thou given no water to drink, and thou hast withdrawn bread from the hungry.

But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.

That is why snares surround you, and why sudden fear terrifies 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 height of the stars, how high they are!

And you say, What knowledge has God? is he able to give decisions through the deep dark?

Clouds veil Him so that He cannot see,
as He walks on the circle of the sky.”

Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?

Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

Acquaint thyself, I pray thee, with Him, And be at peace, Thereby thine increase is good.

"If you return to the Almighty you'll be restored, as you remove iniquity from your household.

Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

And the Mighty hath been thy defence, And silver is strength to thee.

You'll entreat him and he'll listen to you as you fulfill your vows.

And thou decreest a saying, And it is established to thee, And on thy ways hath light shone.

When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.

Even to day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.

Would he make use of his great power to overcome me? No, but he would give attention to me.

“There the righteous and upright could reason with Him;
So I would be acquitted forever by my Judge.

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:

To the left in His working -- and I see not, He is covered on the right, and I behold not.

But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

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

That is why I am terrified in his presence; when I consider, I am afraid because of him.

For God has made my heart feeble, and my mind is troubled before the Ruler of all.

For I am overcome by the dark, and by the black night which is covering my face.

Considering then that there is no time hid from the Almighty, how happeneth it, that they which know him, will not regard his days?

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 harvest their fodder in a field [that is not their own],
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

The naked they cause to lodge Without clothing. And there is no covering in the cold.

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

From [the] city people groan, and [the] throat of [the] wounded cries for help; yet God does not {regard it as unseemly}.

The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

And the man whose desire is for the wife of another is waiting for the evening, saying, No eye will see me; and he puts a cover on his face. And in the night the thief goes about;

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.

He is swift as the waters; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.

As dry ground and heat snatch away the melted snow,
so Sheol steals those who have sinned.

The womb shall forget him; the worm shall feed sweetly on him; he shall be no more remembered; and wickedness shall be broken as a tree.

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

He draweth also the mighty with his power: he riseth up, and no man is sure of life.

He giveth to him confidence, and he is supported, And his eyes are on their 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.