So that a hard death seems better to my soul than my pains.

If I have done wrong, what have I done to you, O keeper of men? why have you made me a mark for your blows, so that I am a weariness to myself?

And why do you not take away my sin, and let my wrongdoing be ended? for now I go down to the dust, and you will be searching for me with care, but I will be gone.

If you are clean and upright; then he will certainly be moved to take up your cause, and will make clear your righteousness by building up your house again.

Put the question now to the past generations, and give attention to what has been searched out by their fathers:

Will they not give you teaching, and say words of wisdom to you?

So is the end of all who do not keep God in mind; and the hope of the evil-doer comes to nothing:

He is looking to his family for support, but it is not there; he puts his hope in it, but it comes to nothing.

Such is the joy of his way, and out of the dust another comes up to take his place.

Truly, I see that it is so: and how is it possible for a man to get his right before 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.

Who gives orders to the sun, and it does not give its light; and who keeps the stars from shining.

Who does great things not to be searched out; yes, wonders without number.

If he puts out his hand to take, by whom may it be turned back? who may say to him, What are you doing?

How much less may I give an answer to him, using the right words in argument with him?

Even if my cause was good, I would not be able to give an answer; I would make request for grace from him who was against me.

If I had sent for him to be present, and he had come, I would have no faith that he would give ear to my voice.

If it is a question of strength, he says, Here I am! and if it is a question of a cause at law, he says, Who will give me a fixed day?

I have done no wrong; I give no thought to what becomes of me; I have no desire for life.

It is all the same to me; so I say, He puts an end to the sinner and to him who has done no wrong together.

You will not let me be clear of sin! why then do I take trouble for nothing?

Then you will have me pushed into the dust, so that I will seem disgusting to my very clothing.

There is no one to give a decision between us, who might have control over us.

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

What profit is it to you to be cruel, to give up the work of your hands, looking kindly on the design of evil-doers?

Have you eyes of flesh, or do you see as man sees?

Though you see that I am not an evil-doer; and there is no one who is able to take a man out of your hands?

Your hands made me, and I was formed by you, but then, changing your purpose, you gave me up to destruction.

O keep in mind that you made me out of earth; and will you send me back again to dust?

You have been kind to me, and your grace has been with me, and your care has kept my spirit safe.

Why then did you make me come out of my mother's body? It would have been better for me to have taken my last breath, and for no eye to have seen me,

And for me to have been as if I had not been; to have been taken from my mother's body straight to my last resting-place.

Before I go to the place from which I will not come back, to the land where all is dark and black,

Are all these words to go unanswered? and is a man seen to be right because he is full of talk?

Are your words of pride to make men keep quiet? and are you to make sport, with no one to put you to shame?

And would make clear to you the secrets of wisdom, and the wonders of his purpose!

Are you able to take God's measure, to make discovery of the limits of the Ruler of all?

They are higher than heaven; what is there for you to do? deeper than the underworld, and outside your knowledge;

If he goes on his way, shutting a man up and putting him to death, who may make him go back from his purpose?

But if you put your heart right, stretching out your hands to him;

And your life will be brighter than day; though it is dark, it will become like the morning.

Sleeping with no fear of danger; and men will be desiring to have grace in your eyes;

No doubt you have knowledge, and wisdom will come to an end with you.

But I have a mind as well as you; I am equal to you: yes, who has not knowledge of such things as these?

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!

There is wealth in the tents of those who make destruction, and those by whom God is moved to wrath are safe; even those whose god is their strength.

But put now a question to the beasts, and get teaching from them; or to the birds of the heaven, and they will make it clear to you;

Or to the things which go flat on the earth, and they will give you wisdom; and the fishes of the sea will give you news of it.

Truly, my eye has seen all this, word of it has come to my ear, and I have knowledge of it.

The same things are in my mind as in yours; I am equal to you.

But I would have talk with the Ruler of all, and my desire is to have an argument with God.

But you put a false face on things; all your attempts to put things right are of no value.

Give ear to the argument of my mouth, and take note of the words of my lips.

Will it be good for you to be searched out by him, or have you the thought that he may be guided into error like a man?

Keep quiet, and let me say what is in my mind, whatever may come to me.

Truly, he will put an end to me; I have no hope; but I will not give way in argument before him;

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

See now, I have put my cause in order, and I am certain that I will be seen to be right.

Is any one able to take up the argument against me? If so, I would keep quiet and give up my breath.

Only two things do not do to me, then I will come before your face:

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.

Though a man comes to nothing like a bit of dead wood, or like a robe which has become food for the worm.

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 is cut down, it will come to life again, and its branches will not come to an end.

But man comes to his death and is gone: he gives up his spirit, and where is he?

So man goes down to his last resting-place and comes not again: till the heavens come to an end, they will not be awake or come out of their sleep.

If only you would keep me safe in the underworld, putting me in a secret place till your wrath is past, giving me a fixed time when I might come to your memory again!

If death takes a man, will he come to life again? All the days of my trouble I would be waiting, till the time came for me to be free.

But truly a mountain falling comes to dust, and a rock is moved from its place;

The stones are crushed small by the force of the waters; the dust of the earth is washed away by their overflowing: and so you put an end to the hope of man.

His sons come to honour, and he has no knowledge of it; they are made low, but he is not conscious of it.

Will a wise man make answer with knowledge of no value, or will he give birth to the east wind?

It is by your mouth, even yours, that you are judged to be in the wrong, and not by me; and your lips give witness against you.

Were you the first man to come into the world? or did you come into being before the hills?

Are the comforts of God not enough for you, and the gentle word which was said to you?

Take note and give ear to my words; and I will say what I have seen:

For only to them was the land given, and no strange people were among them:)

He is wandering about in search of bread, saying, Where is it? and he is certain that the day of trouble is ready for him:

He is greatly in fear of the dark day, trouble and pain overcome him:

And he has made his resting-place in the towns which have been pulled down, in houses where no man had a right to be, whose fate was to become masses of broken walls.

He does not get wealth for himself, and is unable to keep what he has got; the heads of his grain are not bent down to the earth.

He is like a vine whose grapes do not come to full growth, or an olive-tree dropping its flowers.

Evil has made them with child, and they give birth to trouble; and the fruit of their body is shame for themselves.

Such things have frequently come to my ears: you are comforters who only give trouble.

May words which are like the wind be stopped? or what is troubling you to make answer to them?

It would not be hard for me to say such things if your souls were in my soul's place; joining words together against you, and shaking my head at you:

It has come up as a witness against me, and the wasting of my flesh makes answer to my face.

God gives me over to the power of sinners, sending me violently into the hands of evil-doers.

I was in comfort, but I have been broken up by his hands; he has taken me by the neck, shaking me to bits; he has put me up as a mark for his arrows.

My friends make sport of me; to God my eyes are weeping,

Be pleased, now, to be responsible for me to yourself; for there is no other who will put his hand in mine.

As for him who is false to his friend for a reward, light will be cut off from the eyes of his children.

He has made me a word of shame to the peoples; I have become a mark for their sport.

My eyes have become dark because of my pain, and all my body is wasted to a shade.

They are changing night into day; they say, The light is near the dark.

If I say to the earth, You are my father; and to the worm, My mother and my sister;

Why do we seem as beasts in your eyes, and as completely without knowledge?

The twisted cord is put secretly in the earth to take him, and the cord is placed in his way.

He is pulled out of his tent where he was safe, and he is taken away to the king of fears.

Ten times now you have made sport of me; it gives you no sense of shame to do me wrong.