Then his wife said to him, "Are you still persisting in your blamelessness? {Curse} God and die."

Let those who curse the day curse it, those who are skilled at rousing Leviathan.

There [the] wicked cease from troubling, and there [the] {weary} are at rest;

[the] prisoners are at ease together; they do not hear [the] oppressor's voice.

[The] small and [the] great [are] there, and [the] slave [is] free from his masters.

who rejoice {exceedingly}, [and] they are glad when they find [the] grave?

But now it has come to you, and you are worn out; it touches you, and you are horrified.

"{Think} now, who has perished [who is] innocent? Or where [are] the upright destroyed?

[The] roar of [the] lion and [the] voice of a lion in its prime, and [the] teeth of [the] young lions are broken.

[The] lion is perishing without prey, and [the] lion's whelps are scattered.

How much more dwellers in clay houses, whose foundation [is] in the dust? They are crushed like a moth.

{Between morning and evening} they are destroyed; without [anyone] regarding [it] they perish forever.

His children are far from deliverance, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer--

to set [the] lowly on high, and [those] mourning are lifted to safety.

[He] is capturing [the] wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are rushed.

And you shall know that your offspring [are] many, and your descendants like the vegetation of the earth.

for the arrows of Shaddai [are] in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

{I refused} to touch [them]; they [are] like {food that will make me ill}.

My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed; like a streambed of wadis they flow away,

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

They are disappointed, because they trusted; they came {here} and they are confounded.

How painful are {upright words}! But what does {your reproof} reprove?

"Does not {a human being have hard service} on earth? And [are not] his days like the days of a laborer?

So {I had to inherit} months of worthlessness, and nights of misery are apportioned to me.

"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end {without hope}.

The eye of [the one] seeing me will not see me; your eyes [are] upon me, but {I will be gone}.

I loathe [my life]; I would not live forever; depart from me, for my days [are] a breath.

If you [are] pure and upright, indeed, now he will rouse himself for you, and he will restore your righteous abode.

for we [are of] yesterday, and we do not know, for our days on earth [are] a shadow.

So [are] the paths of all who forget God; and [the] hope of [the] godless will perish,

{If} he would snatch away, who could turn him? Who could say to him, 'What are you doing?'

"And my days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they do not see good.

[Are] your days as the days of human beings, or your years as the days of man,

You renew your witnesses against me, and you increase your vexation against me; {relief forces} [are] against me.

[Are] not my days few? Let him leave [me] alone; let him turn from me, and let me rejoice a little.

For he knows {those who are worthless}; {when he sees} iniquity, {he will not consider it}.

"Truly indeed you [are the] people, and wisdom will die with you.

[The] tents of [the] destroyers are at peace, and [there is] security for those who provoke God, [for those] whom God brings into his hand.

"With him [are] wisdom and powerful deeds, and to him [belong] counsel and understanding.

"Strength and sound wisdom [are] with him; [the] deceived and [the] deceiver [are] his.

"But you {whitewash with lies}; all of you [are] {worthless healers}.

Your maxims [are] proverbs of ashes; your defenses [are] defenses of clay.

"{How many} [are] my iniquities and sins? Make known to me my transgression and my sin.

If his days [are] determined, the number of his months [is] with you; you have appointed his boundaries, and he cannot cross [them].

{so} a man lies down, and he does not arise. {Until the heavens are no more}, they will not awaken, and they will not be roused out of their sleep.

"{What is worse}, you yourself are doing away with fear, and you are lessening meditation {before} God.

Both [the] gray-haired and [the] old [are] among us-- {those older than your father}.

"Are the consolations of God too small for you, a word [spoken] gently with you?

Look, he does not trust his holy ones, and [the] heavens are not clean in his eyes.

"All of the wicked [one's] days he is writhing, even [through] the number of years that are laid up for the tyrant.

Sounds of terror [are] in his ears; in prosperity [the] destroyer will come [against] him.

{he will dwell} [in] desolate cities, in houses that they should not inhabit, which are destined for rubble.

"I have heard many [things] like these; all of you [are] {miserable comforters}.

My face is red because of weeping, and deep shadows [are] on my eyelids,

"My spirit is pulled down; my days are extinguished; [the] graveyard [is] for me.

And my eye has grown dim from grief, and the limbs of my body [are] all like a shadow.

[The] upright are appalled at this, and [the] innocent excites himself over [the] godless.

"My days are past; my plans are broken down-- [even] the desires of my heart.

[if] I call to the pit, 'You [are] my father,' to the maggot, '[You are] my mother or my sister,'

Why are we considered as animals? [Why] are we taken as stupid in your eyes?

"[You who] are tearing {yourself} in your anger, will [the] earth be forsaken because of you? Or will [the] rock be removed from its place?

"{His strong steps} are shortened, and his [own] schemes throw him down,

[Those of the] west are appalled over {his fate}, and [those of the] east {are seized with horror}.

Surely these [are] the dwellings of [the] godless, and this [is] the dwelling place of him [who] knows not God."

These ten times you have disgraced me; you are not ashamed [that] you have attacked me.

Why do you pursue me like God? And are not satisfied with my flesh?

With them their offspring [are] established {before them}, and their descendants before their eyes.

Their houses [are] safe without fear, and the rod of God [is] not upon them.

Look, their prosperity [is] not in their hands; the schemes of [the] wicked are repugnant to me.

[How often] are they like straw {before} the wind, and like chaff that [the] storm carries away?

His vats are full [with] milk and the marrow of his bones is moist.

For you say, 'Where is the nobleman's house, and where [are] {the tents in which the wicked dwell}?'

[The] clods of [the] valley are sweet to him; everyone will follow after him, and {before} him {they are innumerable}.

[Is] it a pleasure to Shaddai if you are righteous, or a gain if you make your ways blameless?

Therefore trapping nets [are] all around you, and panic suddenly terrifies you,

"[Is] not God [in the] height of [the] heavens? But see how lofty are {the highest stars}.

Thick clouds [are] a covering for him, so that he does not see; and he walks about on [the] dome of heaven.'

Yet he himself filled up their houses [with] good [things], but [the] schemes of [the] wicked are repugnant to me.

When they are humiliated, {you say}, '[It is] pride,' for he saves {the humble}.

For he will carry out {what he appoints for me}, and many [things] like these [are] with him

"Why are not times kept by Shaddai, and [why] do not [those who] know him see his days?

They are wet from the rainstorm of the mountains, and they cling to the rock {without} refuge.

Between their terraces they press out oil; they tread [the] presses, but they are thirsty.

"Those are among [the ones] rebelling [against the] light; they do not recognize his ways, and they do not stay in his paths.

He gives security to him, and he is supported, but his eyes [are] upon their ways.

They are exalted a little while, then {they are gone}. And they are brought low; they are cut off like all [others], and like [the] heads of grain they wither away.

"Domination and dread [are] with him who makes peace in his high heavens.

Look, even [the] moon {is not bright}, and [the] stars are not pure in his sight.

"[The] pillars of heaven tremble, and they are astounded at his rebuke.

Look, these [are] the outer fringes of his ways, and {how faint is the word} [that] we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?"

Far be it from me that {I would say that you are right}; until I pass away, I will not put away from me my blamelessness.

Their survivors are buried through the plague, and their widows do not weep.

He breaks open a mine shaft {away from where people dwell}; [those] who are forgotten {by travelers}, they dangle, they sway [far away] from human beings.

Its stones [are the] place of sapphire, and [the] earthen dirt {has} gold.

Through want and through barren hunger they are gnawing [in the] dry region [in the] darkness of desolation and waste.

They are picking salt herbs, the leaves of bushes, and [the] roots of broom trees to warm themselves.

They bray among [the] bushes; they are gathered under [the] nettles.

Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as [by] the wind, and my hope of deliverance passed by like a cloud.

My bowels are in turmoil, and they are not still; days of misery come to confront me.

let thorns grow in place of wheat and noxious weeds in place of barley." The words of Job are ended.