“My days are past, my purposes and plans are frustrated and torn apart;
The wishes of my heart [are broken].

“These [thoughts try to] make the night into the day;
‘The light is near,’ they say in the presence of darkness [but they pervert the truth].

“But if I look to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) as my home,
If I make my bed in the darkness,

If I call out to the pit (grave), ‘You are my father’;
And to the worm [that feeds on decay], ‘You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],’

Where now is my hope?
And who regards or considers or is even concerned about my hope?

“Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)?
Shall we go down together in the dust?”

“Why are we regarded as beasts,
As if [we are] stupid (senseless) in your eyes?

“You who tear yourself apart in anger,
Is the earth to be abandoned for your sake,
Or the rock to be moved out of its place?

“Indeed, the light of the wicked will be put out,
And the flame of his fire will not shine.

“The vigorous stride will be shortened,
And his own counsel and the scheme [in which he trusted] will bring his downfall.

“The strength [of the wicked] is famished and weakened,
And disaster is ready at his side [if he stops].

“His skin is devoured by disease;
The firstborn of death [the worst of diseases] consumes his limbs.

“He is torn from his tent which he trusted [for safety],
And he is marched and brought to the king of terrors (death).

“Nothing of his dwells in his tent;
Brimstone (burning sulfur) is scattered over his dwelling [to purify it].

“The roots [of the wicked] are dried up below,
And above, his branch is cut off and withers.

“He is driven and propelled from light into darkness,
And chased from the inhabited world.

“Those in the west are astonished and appalled at his fate,
And those in the east are seized with horror.

“Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked and the ungodly,
And such is the place of him who does not know or recognize or honor God.”

“And if it were true that I have erred,
My error would remain with me [and I would be conscious of it].

“If indeed you [braggarts] vaunt and magnify yourselves over me
And prove my disgrace (humiliation) to me,

“He has stripped me of my honor
And removed the crown from my head.

“He has also kindled His wrath [like a fire] against me
And He considers and counts me as one of His adversaries.

“My breath is repulsive to my wife,
And I am loathsome to my own brothers.

“All the men of my council hate me;
Those I love have turned against me.

“My bone clings to my skin and to my flesh,
And I have escaped [death] by the skin of my teeth.

“Have pity on me! Have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has touched me.

“Why do you persecute me as God does?
Why are you not satisfied with my flesh (anguish)?

“Oh, that the words I now speak were written!
Oh, that they were recorded in a scroll!

“If you say, ‘How shall we [continue to] persecute him?’
And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?’

“Then beware and be afraid of the sword [of divine vengeance] for yourselves,
For wrathful are the punishments of that sword,
So that you may know there is judgment.”

“I have heard the reproof which insults me,
But the spirit of my understanding makes me answer.

“Do you not know this from the old days,
Since the time that man was placed on the earth,

That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the godless is only for a moment?

“He flies away like a dream and cannot be found;
Yes, he is chased away like a vision of the night.

“His bones are full of youthful strength
But it lies down with him in the dust.

Yet his food turns [to poison] in his stomach;
It is the venom of vipers within him.

“He swallows [his ill-gotten] riches,
But will vomit them up;
God will drive them out of his belly.

“He sucks the poison of vipers [which ill-gotten wealth contains];
The viper’s tongue slays him.

“He does not look at the rivers,
The flowing streams of honey and butter [to enjoy his wealth].

“Because he knew no quietness or calm within him [because of his greed],
He does not retain anything he desires.

“In the fullness of his excess (great abundance) he will be in trouble;
The hand of everyone who suffers will come against him [he is miserable on every side].

“When he fills his belly,
God will send His fierce anger on him
And will rain it upon him while he is eating.

“He may flee from the iron weapon,
But the bow of bronze will pierce him through.

“The arrow is drawn forth and it comes out of his back [after passing through his body];
Yes, the glittering point comes out of his gall.
Terrors march in upon him;

“The produce and increase of his house will depart [with the victors];
His possessions will be dragged away in the day of God’s wrath.

“As for me, is my complaint to man or about him?
And why should I not be impatient and my spirit troubled?

“Even when I remember, I am troubled and afraid;
Horror and trembling take hold of my flesh.

“Their houses are safe from fear;
And the rod of God is not on them.

“They lift up their voices and sing to the tambourine and the lyre
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.

“Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

‘Who [and what] is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what would we gain if we plead with Him?’

“But notice, the prosperity of the wicked is not in their hand (in their power);
The counsel of the wicked [and the mystery of God’s dealings with the ungodly] is far from my comprehension.

“How often [then] is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out,
And that their disaster falls on them?
Does God distribute pain and destruction and sorrow [to them] in His anger?

“You say, ‘God stores away [the punishment of] man’s wickedness for his children.’
Let God repay him so that he may know and experience it.

“Let his own eyes see his destruction,
And let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.

“For what pleasure does he have in his house and family after he is dead,
When the number of his months [of life] is cut off?

His pails are full of milk [his sides are filled out with fat],
And the marrow of his bones is moist,

Whereas another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting pleasure or good fortune.

“For you say, ‘Where is the house of the noble man?
And where is the tent, the dwelling place of the wicked?’

“That evil men are [now] reserved for the day of disaster and destruction,
They will be led away on the day of [God’s] wrath?

“The [dirt] clods of the valley are sweet to him [and gently cover him],
Moreover, all men will follow after him [to a grave],
While countless ones go before him.

“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
That He enters into judgment against you?

“For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,
And stripped men naked.

“You have sent widows away empty-handed,
And the arms (strength) of the fatherless have been broken.

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 distant stars, how high they are!

‘Thick clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks on the vault (circle) of the heavens.’

“Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked and ungodly is far from me.

‘Surely our adversaries are cut off and destroyed,
And fire has consumed their abundance.’

“If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored];
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents,

And place your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks [considering it of little value],

“You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways.

“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.”

“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips;
I have kept the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

“For He performs what is planned (appointed) for me,
And He is mindful of many such things.

“Therefore I would be terrified at His presence;
When I consider [all of this], I tremble in dread of Him.

But I am not silenced by the darkness [of these woes that fell on me],
Nor by the thick darkness which covers my face.

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

“They drive away the donkeys of the orphans;
They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

“They crowd the needy off the road;
The poor of the land all hide themselves.

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

“They are wet from the rain of the mountains
And cling to the rock for lack of shelter.

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

“Within the walls [of the wicked] the poor make [olive] oil;
They tread [the grapes in] the wine presses, but thirst.

“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].

“Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to know its ways
Nor stay in its paths.

“The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me,’
And he covers his face.

“In the dark they dig into [the penetrable walls of] houses;
They shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light [of day].

“For the morning is the same to him as the thick darkness [of midnight];
For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.

“They are insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is cursed on the earth;
They do not turn toward the vineyards.

“Drought and heat consume the snow waters;
So does Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) [consume] those who have sinned.

“Yet God draws away the mighty by His power;
He rises, but no one has assurance of life.

“They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone;
Moreover, they are brought low and like everything [they are] gathered up and taken out of the way;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

“And if this is not so, who can prove me a liar
And make my speech worthless?”

“How then can man be justified and righteous with God?
Or how can he who is born of a woman be pure and clean?

How much less man, that maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”

“The spirits of the dead tremble
Underneath the waters and their inhabitants.

“Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) is naked before God,
And Abaddon (the place of destruction) has no covering [from His eyes].

“He covers the face of the full moon
And spreads His cloud over it.

“The pillars of the heavens tremble
And are terrified at His rebuke.