Him that removeth the mountains, and they know it not, When he overturneth them in his anger;

Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble.

Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.

Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.

Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.

Lo, He goeth over by me, and I see not, And He passeth on, and I attend not to it.

Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou?

How much less shall I answer him, and choose out my words to reason with him?

Whom, though I were righteous, yet would I not answer, but I would make supplication to my judge.

If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

He troubleth me so with the tempest, and woundeth me out of measure without a cause.

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

If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.

Though I were perfect, yet would I not know my soul: I would despise my life.

This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked.

If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

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?

If I say, I will put my grief out of mind, I will let my face be sad no longer and I will be bright;

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

Be it that I am wicked, why then do I labour in vain?

Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.

There is not yet a mediator between us, who would set his hand on the two of us,

Let him take from off me his rod, and, his terror, let it not startle me:

Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.

“I am disgusted with my life and loathe it!
I will give free expression to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

I will say to God, Do not put me down as a sinner; make clear to me what you have against me.

Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?

Do you have eyes made of flesh? Can you look at things as humans do?

that you seek out my iniquity, and you search for my sin

Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.

Thine hands have made me and fashioned me together round about; yet thou dost destroy me.

‘Remember now, that You have made me as clay;
So will You turn me into dust again?

Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese?

Yet these things thou didst hide in thy heart; I know that this is with thee:

That, if I did wrong, you would take note of it, and would not make me clear from sin:

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;

For it increaseth. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion: and again thou shewest thyself marvellous upon me.

Wherefore then hast thou brought me forth out of the womb? Oh that I had given up the ghost, and no eye had seen me!

Are my days not few? Stop it!
Leave me alone, so that I can smile a little

to [the] land of darkness, like [the] darkness of a deep shadow and {chaos}, so that it shines forth like darkness.'"

And yet, O that God had spoken! And doth open His lips with thee.

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?

It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?

“It is longer in measure [and scope] than the earth,
And broader than the sea.

If He pass on, and shut up, and assemble, Who then dost reverse it?

For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also; will he not then consider it?

Yet a senseless man will make bold, though man be born like the foal of a wild ass.

If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him;

If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.

Because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away:

And thy life shall be clearer than the noonday; Though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning.

You'll be secure, because there is hope; you'll see that you're at rest and safe.

But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and all refuge shall vanish from them, and their hope shall be the breathing out of life.

It seems that I am to be as one who is a cause of laughing to his neighbour, one who makes his prayer to God and is answered! the upright man who has done no wrong is to be made sport of!

He that is ready to slip with his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at ease.

At peace are the tents of spoilers, And those provoking God have confidence, He into whose hand God hath brought.

And yet, ask, I pray thee, One of the beasts, and it doth shew thee, And a fowl of the heavens, And it doth declare to thee.

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

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]
That the hand of the Lord has done this,

“Does the ear not put words to the test,
Just as the palate tastes its food [distinguishing between the desirable and the undesirable]?

Yea, with God is wisdom and strength - it is he that hath counsel and foreknowledge.

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

Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up: also he sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

He carrieth away the wise men, as it were a spoil, and bringeth the judges out of their wits.

He taketh the verity from out of the mouth, and disappointeth the aged of their wisdom.

He pours out contempt on nobles
and disarms the strong.

He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them; he spreadeth out the nations, and bringeth them in;

He changeth the heart of the princes and kings of the earth, and disapointeth them; so that they go wandering out of the way,

Lo, mine eye hath seen all this, mine ear hath heard and understood it.

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

Yet I for the Mighty One do speak, And to argue for God I delight.

And yet, ye are forgers of falsehood, Physicians of nought -- all of you,

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

Will you say in God's name what is not right, and put false words into his mouth?

Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him?

His splendor will petrify you with terror, paralyzing you with fear, won't it?

Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will.

Why do I put myself at risk
and take my life in my own hands?

Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.

Give ear with care to my words, and keep what I say in your minds.

Who is it that shall contend with me? For, now, if I should hold my peace, why! I should breathe my last!

Thy hand - from off me, take thou far away, and, thy terror, let it not startle me!

Then at the sound of your voice I will give answer; or let me put forward my cause for you to give me an answer.

What is the number of my evil-doings and my sins? give me knowledge of them.

And thou dost put - in the stocks - my feet, and observest all my paths, Against the roots of my feet, thou dost cut out a bound;

Man wears out like something rotten,
like a moth-eaten garment.

>

He comes out like a flower, and is cut down: he goes in flight like a shade, and is never seen again.

Yet dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, and bringest me into judgment with thee?

Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.

Since his days have been determined, the number of his months is known to you. You've set his limit and he cannot exceed it.

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 the root of it grows old in the earth, and the trunk of it dies in the ground,

Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.

Yet, man, dieth, and is prostrate, Yea the son of earth doth cease to breathe, and where is he?

As water disappears from the sea
and a river becomes parched and dry,

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

If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.