³ “May the day of my birth perish,
    and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’^(B)
4 That day—may it turn to darkness;
    may God above not care about it;
    may no light shine on it.
⁵ May gloom and utter darkness^(C) claim it once more;
    may a cloud settle over it;
    may blackness overwhelm it.
⁶ That night—may thick darkness^(D) seize it;
    may it not be included among the days of the year
    nor be entered in any of the months.
⁷ May that night be barren;
    may no shout of joy^(E) be heard in it.
⁸ May those who curse days^[a] curse that day,^(F)
    those who are ready to rouse Leviathan.^(G)
9 May its morning stars become dark;
    may it wait for daylight in vain
    and not see the first rays of dawn,^(H)
10 for it did not shut the doors of the womb on me
    to hide trouble from my eyes.

¹¹ “Why did I not perish at birth,
    and die as I came from the womb?^(I)
12 Why were there knees to receive me^(J)
    and breasts that I might be nursed?
¹³ For now I would be lying down^(K) in peace;
    I would be asleep and at rest^(L)
14 with kings and rulers of the earth,^(M)
    who built for themselves places now lying in ruins,^(N)
15 with princes^(O) who had gold,
    who filled their houses with silver.^(P)
16 Or why was I not hidden away in the ground like a stillborn child,^(Q)
    like an infant who never saw the light of day?^(R)
17 There the wicked cease from turmoil,^(S)
    and there the weary are at rest.^(T)
18 Captives^(U) also enjoy their ease;
    they no longer hear the slave driver’s^(V) shout.^(W)
19 The small and the great are there,^(X)
    and the slaves are freed from their owners.

²⁰ “Why is light given to those in misery,
    and life to the bitter of soul,^(Y)
21 to those who long for death that does not come,^(Z)
    who search for it more than for hidden treasure,^(AA)
22 who are filled with gladness
    and rejoice when they reach the grave?^(AB)
23 Why is life given to a man
    whose way is hidden,^(AC)
    whom God has hedged in?^(AD)
24 For sighing^(AE) has become my daily food;^(AF)
    my groans^(AG) pour out like water.^(AH)
25 What I feared has come upon me;
    what I dreaded^(AI) has happened to me.^(AJ)
26 I have no peace,^(AK) no quietness;
    I have no rest,^(AL) but only turmoil.”^(AM)

² “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?^(AO)
3 Think how you have instructed many,^(AP)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.^(AQ)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;^(AR)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.^(AS)
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;^(AT)
    it strikes^(AU) you, and you are dismayed.^(AV)
6 Should not your piety be your confidence^(AW)
    and your blameless^(AX) ways your hope?

⁷ “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?^(AY)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?^(AZ)
8 As I have observed,^(BA) those who plow evil^(BB)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.^(BC)
9 At the breath of God^(BD) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.^(BE)
10 The lions may roar^(BF) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions^(BG) are broken.^(BH)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,^(BI)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^(BJ)

¹² “A word^(BK) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper^(BL) of it.^(BM)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,^(BN)
14 fear and trembling^(BO) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.^(BP)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.^(BQ)
16 It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:^(BR)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?^(BS)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?^(BT)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,^(BU)
    if he charges his angels with error,^(BV)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,^(BW)
    whose foundations^(BX) are in the dust,^(BY)
    who are crushed^(BZ) more readily than a moth!^(CA)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.^(CB)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,^(CC)
    so that they die^(CD) without wisdom?’^(CE)

⁸ “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.^(CU)
9 He performs wonders^(CV) that cannot be fathomed,^(CW)
    miracles that cannot be counted.^(CX)
10 He provides rain for the earth;^(CY)
    he sends water on the countryside.^(CZ)
11 The lowly he sets on high,^(DA)
    and those who mourn^(DB) are lifted^(DC) to safety.
¹² He thwarts the plans^(DD) of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.^(DE)
13 He catches the wise^(DF) in their craftiness,^(DG)
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.^(DH)
14 Darkness^(DI) comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.^(DJ)
15 He saves the needy^(DK) from the sword in their mouth;
    he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.^(DL)
16 So the poor^(DM) have hope,
    and injustice shuts its mouth.^(DN)

¹⁷ “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;^(DO)
    so do not despise the discipline^(DP) of the Almighty.^[b](DQ)
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;^(DR)
    he injures, but his hands also heal.^(DS)
19 From six calamities he will rescue^(DT) you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.^(DU)
20 In famine^(DV) he will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.^(DW)
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,^(DX)
    and need not fear^(DY) when destruction comes.^(DZ)
22 You will laugh^(EA) at destruction and famine,^(EB)
    and need not fear the wild animals.^(EC)
23 For you will have a covenant^(ED) with the stones^(EE) of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.^(EF)
24 You will know that your tent is secure;^(EG)
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.^(EH)
25 You will know that your children will be many,^(EI)
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.^(EJ)
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,^(EK)
    like sheaves gathered in season.^(EL)

²⁷ “We have examined this, and it is true.
    So hear it^(EM) and apply it to yourself.”^(EN)

² “If only my anguish could be weighed
    and all my misery be placed on the scales!^(EO)
3 It would surely outweigh the sand^(EP) of the seas—
    no wonder my words have been impetuous.^(EQ)
4 The arrows^(ER) of the Almighty^(ES) are in me,^(ET)
    my spirit drinks^(EU) in their poison;^(EV)
    God’s terrors^(EW) are marshaled against me.^(EX)
5 Does a wild donkey^(EY) bray^(EZ) when it has grass,
    or an ox bellow when it has fodder?^(FA)
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
    or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow^[c]?^(FB)
7 I refuse to touch it;
    such food makes me ill.^(FC)

⁸ “Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant what I hope for,^(FD)
9 that God would be willing to crush^(FE) me,
    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!^(FF)
10 Then I would still have this consolation^(FG)—
    my joy in unrelenting pain^(FH)—
    that I had not denied the words^(FI) of the Holy One.^(FJ)

¹¹ “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
    What prospects, that I should be patient?^(FK)
12 Do I have the strength of stone?
    Is my flesh bronze?^(FL)
13 Do I have any power to help myself,^(FM)
    now that success has been driven from me?

¹⁴ “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend^(FN)
    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.^(FO)
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,^(FP)
    as the streams that overflow
¹⁶ when darkened by thawing ice
    and swollen with melting snow,^(FQ)
17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,
    and in the heat^(FR) vanish from their channels.
¹⁸ Caravans turn aside from their routes;
    they go off into the wasteland and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of Tema^(FS) look for water,
    the traveling merchants of Sheba^(FT) look in hope.
²⁰ They are distressed, because they had been confident;
    they arrive there, only to be disappointed.^(FU)
21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
    you see something dreadful and are afraid.^(FV)
22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
    pay a ransom^(FW) for me from your wealth,^(FX)
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
    rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?^(FY)

²⁴ “Teach me, and I will be quiet;^(FZ)
    show me where I have been wrong.^(GA)
25 How painful are honest words!^(GB)
    But what do your arguments prove?
²⁶ Do you mean to correct what I say,
    and treat my desperate words as wind?^(GC)
27 You would even cast lots^(GD) for the fatherless^(GE)
    and barter away your friend.

²⁸ “But now be so kind as to look at me.
    Would I lie to your face?^(GF)
29 Relent, do not be unjust;^(GG)
    reconsider, for my integrity^(GH) is at stake.^[d](GI)
30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?^(GJ)
    Can my mouth not discern^(GK) malice?