² “Oh, that my grief were fully weighed,
And my calamity laid with it on the scales!
³ For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea—
Therefore my words have been rash.
^4 (A)For the arrows of the Almighty are within me;
My spirit drinks in their poison;
^(B)The terrors of God are arrayed ^(C)against me.
⁵ Does the ^(D)wild donkey bray when it has grass,
Or does the ox low over its fodder?
⁶ Can flavorless food be eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
⁷ My soul refuses to touch them;
They are as loathsome food to me.

⁸ “Oh, that I might have my request,
That God would grant me the thing that I long for!
⁹ That it would please God to crush me,
That He would loose His hand and ^(E)cut me off!
¹⁰ Then I would still have comfort;
Though in anguish I would exult,
He will not spare;
For ^(F)I have not concealed the words of ^(G)the Holy One.

¹¹ “What strength do I have, that I should hope?
And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?
¹² Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or is my flesh bronze?
¹³ Is my help not within me?
And is success driven from me?

¹⁴ “To^(H) him who is ^[a]afflicted, kindness should be shown by his friend,
Even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
^15 (I)My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook,
^(J)Like the streams of the brooks that pass away,
¹⁶ Which are dark because of the ice,
And into which the snow vanishes.
¹⁷ When it is warm, they cease to flow;
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
¹⁸ The paths of their way turn aside,
They go nowhere and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of ^(K)Tema look,
The travelers of ^(L)Sheba hope for them.
²⁰ They are ^(M)disappointed^[b] because they were confident;
They come there and are confused.
²¹ For now ^(N)you are nothing,
You see terror and ^(O)are afraid.
²² Did I ever say, ‘Bring something to me’?
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth’?
²³ Or, ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s hand’?
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of oppressors’?

²⁴ “Teach me, and I will hold my tongue;
Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
²⁵ How forceful are right words!
But what does your arguing prove?
²⁶ Do you intend to rebuke my words,
And the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind?
²⁷ Yes, you overwhelm the fatherless,
And you ^(P)undermine your friend.
²⁸ Now therefore, be pleased to look at me;
For I would never lie to your face.
^29 (Q)Yield now, let there be no injustice!
Yes, concede, my ^(R)righteousness ^[c]still stands!
³⁰ Is there injustice on my tongue?
Cannot my ^[d]taste discern the unsavory?

⁶ “My^(W) days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And are spent without hope.
⁷ Oh, remember that ^(X)my life is a breath!
My eye will never again see good.
^8 (Y)The eye of him who sees me will see me no more;
While your eyes are upon me, I shall no longer be.
⁹ As the cloud disappears and vanishes away,
So ^(Z)he who goes down to the grave does not come up.
¹⁰ He shall never return to his house,
^(AA)Nor shall his place know him anymore.

¹¹ “Therefore I will ^(AB)not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will ^(AC)complain in the bitterness of my soul.
¹² Am I a sea, or a sea serpent,
That You set a guard over me?
^13 (AD)When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
My couch will ease my complaint,’
¹⁴ Then You scare me with dreams
And terrify me with visions,
¹⁵ So that my soul chooses strangling
And death rather than ^[f]my body.
^16 (AE)I loathe my life;
I would not live forever.
^(AF)Let me alone,
For ^(AG)my days are but ^[g]a breath.

¹⁷ “What^(AH) is man, that You should exalt him,
That You should set Your heart on him,
¹⁸ That You should ^[h]visit him every morning,
And test him every moment?
¹⁹ How long?
Will You not look away from me,
And let me alone till I swallow my saliva?
²⁰ Have I sinned?
What have I done to You, ^(AI)O watcher of men?
Why ^(AJ)have You set me as Your target,
So that I am a burden ^[i]to myself?
²¹ Why then do You not pardon my transgression,
And take away my iniquity?
For now I will lie down in the dust,
And You will seek me diligently,
But I will no longer be.”

O Lord my God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
² Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

^3 (C)He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters,
Who makes the clouds His chariot,
Who walks on the wings of the wind,
⁴ Who makes His angels spirits,
His ^[a]ministers a flame of fire.

⁵ You who ^[b]laid the foundations of the earth,
So that it should not be moved forever,
⁶ You ^(D)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters stood above the mountains.
⁷ At Your rebuke they fled;
At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
^8 [c]They went up over the mountains;
They went down into the valleys,
To the place which You founded for them.
⁹ You have ^(E)set a boundary that they may not pass over,
^(F)That they may not return to cover the earth.

¹⁰ He sends the springs into the valleys;
They flow among the hills.
¹¹ They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
¹² By them the birds of the heavens have their home;
They sing among the branches.
^13 (G)He waters the hills from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with ^(H)the fruit of Your works.

^14 (I)He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And vegetation for the service of man,
That he may bring forth ^(J)food from the earth,
¹⁵ And ^(K)wine that makes glad the heart of man,
Oil to make his face shine,
And bread which strengthens man’s heart.
¹⁶ The trees of the Lord are full of sap,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
¹⁷ Where the birds make their nests;
The stork has her home in the fir trees.
¹⁸ The high hills are for the wild goats;
The cliffs are a refuge for the ^(L)rock^[d] badgers.

^19 (M)He appointed the moon for seasons;
The ^(N)sun knows its going down.
^20 (O)You make darkness, and it is night,
In which all the beasts of the forest creep about.
^21 (P)The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God.
²² When the sun rises, they gather together
And lie down in their dens.
²³ Man goes out to ^(Q)his work
And to his labor until the evening.

^24 (R)O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your ^(S)possessions—
²⁵ This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
²⁶ There the ships sail about;
There is that ^(T)Leviathan^[e]
Which You have ^[f]made to play there.

^27 (U)These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
²⁸ What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
²⁹ You hide Your face, they are troubled;
^(V)You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
^30 (W)You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth.

³¹ May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord ^(X)rejoice in His works.
³² He looks on the earth, and it ^(Y)trembles;
^(Z)He touches the hills, and they smoke.

^33 (AA)I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
³⁴ May my ^(AB)meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the Lord.
³⁵ May ^(AC)sinners be consumed from the earth,
And the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
^[g]Praise the Lord!