^3 (D)Put not your trust in princes,
    ^(E)in a son of man, in whom there is ^(F)no salvation.
⁴ When ^(G)his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    on that very day his plans perish.

^5 (H)Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose ^(I)hope is in the Lord his God,
^6 (J)who made heaven and earth,
    the sea, and all that is in them,
^(K)who keeps faith forever;
^{7     (L)}who executes justice for the oppressed,
    ^(M)who gives food to the hungry.

^(N)The Lord sets the prisoners free;
^{8     (O)}the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
^(P)The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
    ^(Q)the Lord loves the righteous.
^9 (R)The Lord watches over the sojourners;
    ^(S)he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    but ^(T)the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

^10 (U)The Lord will reign forever,
    your God, O Zion, to all generations.
^(V)Praise the Lord!

² “Today also my ^(A)complaint is bitter;^[a]
    my ^(B)hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
³ Oh, ^(C)that I knew where I might find him,
    that I might come even to his ^(D)seat!
⁴ I would ^(E)lay my case before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would know what he would answer me
    and understand what he would say to me.
⁶ Would he ^(F)contend with me in the greatness of his power?
    No; he would pay attention to me.
⁷ There an upright man could argue with him,
    and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.

⁸ “Behold, ^(G)I go forward, but he is not there,
    and backward, but I do not perceive him;
⁹ on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
    he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
¹⁰ But he ^(H)knows ^(I)the way that I ^(J)take;
    when he has ^(K)tried me, I shall come out as gold.
¹¹ My foot ^(L)has held fast to his steps;
    I have kept his way and have ^(M)not turned aside.
¹² I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
    I have ^(N)treasured the words of his mouth more than my ^(O)portion of food.
¹³ But he is unchangeable,^[b] and ^(P)who can turn him back?
    What he ^(Q)desires, that he does.
¹⁴ For he will complete what he ^(R)appoints for me,
    and many such things are ^(S)in his mind.
¹⁵ Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
    when I consider, I am in dread of him.
¹⁶ God has made my ^(T)heart faint;
    the Almighty has terrified me;
¹⁷ yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
    nor because thick darkness covers my face.

24 “Why are ^(U)not times of judgment ^(V)kept by the Almighty,
    and why do those who know him never see his ^(W)days?
² Some move ^(X)landmarks;
    they seize flocks and pasture them.
³ They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
    they ^(Y)take the widow's ox for a pledge.
⁴ They ^(Z)thrust the poor off the road;
    the poor of the earth ^(AA)all hide themselves.
⁵ Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert
    the poor^{[c] (AB)}go out to their toil, ^(AC)seeking game;
    the wasteland yields food for their children.
⁶ They gather their^[d] fodder in the field,
    and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
⁷ They ^(AD)lie all night naked, without clothing,
    and have no covering in the cold.
⁸ They are wet with the rain of the mountains
    and ^(AE)cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
⁹ (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,
    and they take a pledge against the poor.)
¹⁰ They go about naked, without clothing;
    hungry, they ^(AF)carry the sheaves;
¹¹ among the olive rows of the wicked^[e] they make oil;
    they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.
¹² From out of the city the dying^[f] groan,
    and the soul of ^(AG)the wounded cries for help;
    yet God charges no one with ^(AH)wrong.

¹³ “There are those who rebel ^(AI)against the light,
    who are not acquainted with its ways,
    and do not stay in its paths.
¹⁴ The murderer rises before it is light,
    that he ^(AJ)may kill the poor and needy,
    and in the night he is like a thief.
¹⁵ The eye of the adulterer also waits for ^(AK)the twilight,
    saying, ‘No ^(AL)eye will see me’;
    and he veils his face.
¹⁶ In the dark they ^(AM)dig through houses;
    by day they shut themselves up;
    they do not know the light.
¹⁷ For ^(AN)deep darkness is morning to all of them;
    for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

¹⁸ “You say, ^(AO)‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;
    their portion is cursed in the land;
    no treader turns toward their vineyards.
¹⁹ Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
    so does ^(AP)Sheol those who have sinned.
²⁰ The womb forgets them;
    the worm finds them sweet;
they are ^(AQ)no longer remembered,
    so wickedness is broken like ^(AR)a tree.’

²¹ “They wrong the barren, childless woman,
    and do no good to the widow.
²² Yet God^[g] prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
    they rise up when they despair of life.
²³ He gives them security, and they are supported,
    and his ^(AS)eyes are upon their ways.
²⁴ They are exalted ^(AT)a little while, and then ^(AU)are gone;
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
    they are ^(AV)cut off like the heads of grain.
²⁵ If it is ^(AW)not so, who will prove me a liar
    and show that there is nothing in what I say?”