² “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill ^[a]himself with the east wind?
³ Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?
⁴ Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain ^[b]prayer before God.
⁵ For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
^6 (B)Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.

⁷ “Are you the first man who was born?
^(C)Or were you made before the hills?
^8 (D)Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
^9 (E)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
^10 (F)Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Much older than your father.
¹¹ Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word spoken ^[c]gently with you?
¹² Why does your heart carry you away,
And ^[d]what do your eyes wink at,
¹³ That you turn your spirit against God,
And let such words go out of your mouth?

¹⁴ “What^(G) is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
^15 (H)If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
^16 (I)How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
^(J)Who drinks iniquity like water!

¹⁷ “I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
¹⁸ What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received ^(K)from their fathers,
¹⁹ To whom alone the ^[e]land was given,
And ^(L)no alien passed among them:
²⁰ The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
^(M)And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
^21 [f]Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
^(N)In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
²² He does not believe that he will ^(O)return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.
²³ He ^(P)wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows ^(Q)that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.
²⁴ Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for ^[g]battle.
²⁵ For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
²⁶ Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.

²⁷ “Though^(R) he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made his waist heavy with fat,
²⁸ He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.
²⁹ He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth ^(S)continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
³⁰ He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And ^(T)by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
³¹ Let him not ^(U)trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
³² It will be accomplished ^(V)before his time,
And his branch will not be green.
³³ He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
³⁴ For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.
^35 (W)They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”