⁷ “Were you the first man to be born,
Or ^(E)were you brought forth before the hills?
⁸ Do you hear the ^(F)secret counsel of God,
And cut down wisdom only unto yourself?
^9 (G)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not with us?
¹⁰ Both the ^(H)gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.
¹¹ Are ^(I)the consolations of God too small for you,
Even the ^(J)word spoken gently with you?
¹² Why does your ^(K)heart take you away?
And why do your eyes flash,
¹³ That you should turn your spirit against God
And allow such words to go out of your mouth?
¹⁴ What is man, that ^(L)he should be pure,
Or ^(M)he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
¹⁵ Behold, He puts no faith in His ^(N)holy ones,
And the ^(O)heavens are not pure in His sight;
¹⁶ How much less one who is ^(P)abominable and corrupt,
Man, who ^(Q)drinks ^[a]unrighteousness like water!

¹⁷ “I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have beheld I will also recount;
¹⁸ What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from ^(R)their fathers,
¹⁹ To whom alone the land was given,
And no stranger passed among them.
²⁰ The wicked man writhes ^(S)in pain all his days,
And ^[b]numbered are the years ^(T)stored up for the ruthless.
^21 [c]Sounds of ^(U)dread are in his ears;
^(V)While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
²² He does not believe that he will ^(W)return from darkness,
And he is destined for ^(X)the sword.
²³ He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of ^(Y)darkness is ready at his hand.
²⁴ Distress and anguish terrify him;
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
²⁵ Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And ^(Z)magnifies himself against ^[d]the Almighty.
²⁶ He rushes ^[e]headlong at Him
With ^[f]his massive shield.
²⁷ For he has ^(AA)covered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh.
²⁸ He has ^(AB)dwelt in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ^[g]ruins.
²⁹ He ^(AC)will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not stretch out over the land.
³⁰ He will ^(AD)not be able to ^[h]depart from darkness;
The ^(AE)flame will wither his shoots,
And by ^(AF)the breath of His mouth he will depart.
³¹ Let him not ^(AG)believe in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his ^[i]reward,
³² When ^(AH)his days are not yet fulfilled,
And his palm ^(AI)branch is not green.
³³ He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will ^(AJ)cast off his flower like the olive tree.
³⁴ For the company of ^(AK)the godless is barren,
And fire consumes ^(AL)the tents of ^[j]the corrupt.
³⁵ They ^(AM)conceive ^[k]trouble and give birth to wickedness,
And their ^[l]belly prepares deception.”