² “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?^(B)
3 Think how you have instructed many,^(C)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.^(D)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;^(E)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.^(F)
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;^(G)
    it strikes^(H) you, and you are dismayed.^(I)
6 Should not your piety be your confidence^(J)
    and your blameless^(K) ways your hope?

⁷ “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?^(L)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?^(M)
8 As I have observed,^(N) those who plow evil^(O)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.^(P)
9 At the breath of God^(Q) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.^(R)
10 The lions may roar^(S) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions^(T) are broken.^(U)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,^(V)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^(W)

¹² “A word^(X) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper^(Y) of it.^(Z)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,^(AA)
14 fear and trembling^(AB) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.^(AC)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.^(AD)
16 It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:^(AE)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?^(AF)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?^(AG)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,^(AH)
    if he charges his angels with error,^(AI)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,^(AJ)
    whose foundations^(AK) are in the dust,^(AL)
    who are crushed^(AM) more readily than a moth!^(AN)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.^(AO)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,^(AP)
    so that they die^(AQ) without wisdom?’^(AR)

² “How long will you say such things?^(B)
    Your words are a blustering wind.^(C)
3 Does God pervert justice?^(D)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?^(E)
4 When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.^(F)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead^(G) with the Almighty,^(H)
6 if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf^(I)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.^(J)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous^(K) will your future be.^(L)

⁸ “Ask the former generation^(M)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
⁹ for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,^(N)
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.^(O)
10 Will they not instruct^(P) you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?^(Q)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?^(R)
    Can reeds^(S) thrive without water?
¹² While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.^(T)
13 Such is the destiny^(U) of all who forget God;^(V)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.^(W)
14 What they trust in is fragile^[a];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.^(X)
15 They lean on the web,^(Y) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.^(Z)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots^(AA) over the garden;^(AB)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns^(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’^(AD)
19 Surely its life withers^(AE) away,
    and^[b] from the soil other plants grow.^(AF)

²⁰ “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless^(AG)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.^(AH)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter^(AI)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.^(AJ)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,^(AK)
    and the tents^(AL) of the wicked will be no more.”^(AM)

² “Are all these words to go unanswered?^(B)
    Is this talker to be vindicated?^(C)
3 Will your idle talk^(D) reduce others to silence?
    Will no one rebuke you when you mock?^(E)
4 You say to God, ‘My beliefs are flawless^(F)
    and I am pure^(G) in your sight.’
⁵ Oh, how I wish that God would speak,^(H)
    that he would open his lips against you
⁶ and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,^(I)
    for true wisdom has two sides.
    Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.^(J)

⁷ “Can you fathom^(K) the mysteries of God?
    Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher^(L) than the heavens^(M) above—what can you do?
    They are deeper than the depths below^(N)—what can you know?^(O)
9 Their measure^(P) is longer than the earth
    and wider than the sea.^(Q)

¹⁰ “If he comes along and confines you in prison
    and convenes a court, who can oppose him?^(R)
11 Surely he recognizes deceivers;
    and when he sees evil, does he not take note?^(S)
12 But the witless can no more become wise
    than a wild donkey’s colt^(T) can be born human.^[a](U)

¹³ “Yet if you devote your heart^(V) to him
    and stretch out your hands^(W) to him,^(X)
14 if you put away^(Y) the sin that is in your hand
    and allow no evil^(Z) to dwell in your tent,^(AA)
15 then, free of fault, you will lift up your face;^(AB)
    you will stand firm^(AC) and without fear.^(AD)
16 You will surely forget your trouble,^(AE)
    recalling it only as waters gone by.^(AF)
17 Life will be brighter than noonday,^(AG)
    and darkness will become like morning.^(AH)
18 You will be secure, because there is hope;
    you will look about you and take your rest^(AI) in safety.^(AJ)
19 You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,^(AK)
    and many will court your favor.^(AL)
20 But the eyes of the wicked will fail,^(AM)
    and escape will elude them;^(AN)
    their hope will become a dying gasp.”^(AO)

² “I know that you can do all things;^(A)
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.^(B)
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’^(C)
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.^(D)

⁴ “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.’^(E)
5 My ears had heard of you^(F)
    but now my eyes have seen you.^(G)
6 Therefore I despise myself^(H)
    and repent^(I) in dust and ashes.”^(J)