² “You people really know everything, don’t you?
    And when you die, wisdom will die with you!
³ Well, I know a few things myself—
    and you’re no better than I am.
    Who doesn’t know these things you’ve been saying?
⁴ Yet my friends laugh at me,
    for I call on God and expect an answer.
I am a just and blameless man,
    yet they laugh at me.
⁵ People who are at ease mock those in trouble.
    They give a push to people who are stumbling.
⁶ But robbers are left in peace,
    and those who provoke God live in safety—
    though God keeps them in his power.^[a]

⁷ “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you.
    Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
⁸ Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you.
    Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
⁹ For they all know
    that my disaster^[b] has come from the hand of the Lord.
¹⁰ For the life of every living thing is in his hand,
    and the breath of every human being.
¹¹ The ear tests the words it hears
    just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.
¹² Wisdom belongs to the aged,
    and understanding to the old.

¹³ “But true wisdom and power are found in God;
    counsel and understanding are his.
¹⁴ What he destroys cannot be rebuilt.
    When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.
¹⁵ If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert.
    If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.
¹⁶ Yes, strength and wisdom are his;
    deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment;
    wise judges become fools.
¹⁸ He removes the royal robe of kings.
    They are led away with ropes around their waist.
¹⁹ He leads priests away, stripped of status;
    he overthrows those with long years in power.
²⁰ He silences the trusted adviser
    and removes the insight of the elders.
²¹ He pours disgrace upon princes
    and disarms the strong.

²² “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness;
    he brings light to the deepest gloom.
²³ He builds up nations, and he destroys them.
    He expands nations, and he abandons them.
²⁴ He strips kings of understanding
    and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
²⁵ They grope in the darkness without a light.
    He makes them stagger like drunkards.

⁷ “Are you defending God with lies?
    Do you make your dishonest arguments for his sake?
⁸ Will you slant your testimony in his favor?
    Will you argue God’s case for him?
⁹ What will happen when he finds out what you are doing?
    Can you fool him as easily as you fool people?
¹⁰ No, you will be in trouble with him
    if you secretly slant your testimony in his favor.
¹¹ Doesn’t his majesty terrify you?
    Doesn’t your fear of him overwhelm you?
¹² Your platitudes are as valuable as ashes.
    Your defense is as fragile as a clay pot.

¹³ “Be silent now and leave me alone.
    Let me speak, and I will face the consequences.
¹⁴ Why should I put myself in mortal danger^[c]
    and take my life in my own hands?
¹⁵ God might kill me, but I have no other hope.^[d]
    I am going to argue my case with him.
¹⁶ But this is what will save me—I am not godless.
    If I were, I could not stand before him.

¹⁷ “Listen closely to what I am about to say.
    Hear me out.
¹⁸ I have prepared my case;
    I will be proved innocent.
¹⁹ Who can argue with me over this?
    And if you prove me wrong, I will remain silent and die.

²⁶ “You write bitter accusations against me
    and bring up all the sins of my youth.
²⁷ You put my feet in stocks.
    You examine all my paths.
    You trace all my footprints.
²⁸ I waste away like rotting wood,
    like a moth-eaten coat.

14 “How frail is humanity!
    How short is life, how full of trouble!
² We blossom like a flower and then wither.
    Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.
³ Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature
    and demand an accounting from me?
⁴ Who can bring purity out of an impure person?
    No one!
⁵ You have decided the length of our lives.
    You know how many months we will live,
    and we are not given a minute longer.
⁶ So leave us alone and let us rest!
    We are like hired hands, so let us finish our work in peace.

⁷ “Even a tree has more hope!
    If it is cut down, it will sprout again
    and grow new branches.
⁸ Though its roots have grown old in the earth
    and its stump decays,
⁹ at the scent of water it will bud
    and sprout again like a new seedling.

¹⁰ “But when people die, their strength is gone.
    They breathe their last, and then where are they?
¹¹ As water evaporates from a lake
    and a river disappears in drought,
¹² people are laid to rest and do not rise again.
    Until the heavens are no more, they will not wake up
    nor be roused from their sleep.

¹³ “I wish you would hide me in the grave^[e]
    and forget me there until your anger has passed.
    But mark your calendar to think of me again!
¹⁴ Can the dead live again?
    If so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle,
    and I would eagerly await the release of death.
¹⁵ You would call and I would answer,
    and you would yearn for me, your handiwork.
¹⁶ For then you would guard my steps,
    instead of watching for my sins.
¹⁷ My sins would be sealed in a pouch,
    and you would cover my guilt.

¹⁸ “But instead, as mountains fall and crumble
    and as rocks fall from a cliff,
¹⁹ as water wears away the stones
    and floods wash away the soil,
    so you destroy people’s hope.
²⁰ You always overpower them, and they pass from the scene.
    You disfigure them in death and send them away.
²¹ They never know if their children grow up in honor
    or sink to insignificance.
²² They suffer painfully;
    their life is full of trouble.”

² “A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk!
    You are nothing but a windbag.
³ The wise don’t engage in empty chatter.
    What good are such words?
⁴ Have you no fear of God,
    no reverence for him?
⁵ Your sins are telling your mouth what to say.
    Your words are based on clever deception.
⁶ Your own mouth condemns you, not I.
    Your own lips testify against you.

⁷ “Were you the first person ever born?
    Were you born before the hills were made?
⁸ Were you listening at God’s secret council?
    Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
⁹ What do you know that we don’t?
    What do you understand that we do not?
¹⁰ On our side are aged, gray-haired men
    much older than your father!

¹¹ “Is God’s comfort too little for you?
    Is his gentle word not enough?
¹² What has taken away your reason?
    What has weakened your vision,^[f]
13 that you turn against God
    and say all these evil things?
¹⁴ Can any mortal be pure?
    Can anyone born of a woman be just?
¹⁵ Look, God does not even trust the angels.^[g]
    Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.
¹⁶ How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person
    with a thirst for wickedness!

¹⁷ “If you will listen, I will show you.
    I will answer you from my own experience.
¹⁸ And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men
    who have heard the same thing from their fathers—
¹⁹ from those to whom the land was given
    long before any foreigners arrived.

²⁰ “The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives.
    Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.
²¹ The sound of terror rings in their ears,
    and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.
²² They dare not go out into the darkness
    for fear they will be murdered.
²³ They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’^[h]
    They know their day of destruction is near.
²⁴ That dark day terrifies them.
    They live in distress and anguish,
    like a king preparing for battle.
²⁵ For they shake their fists at God,
    defying the Almighty.
²⁶ Holding their strong shields,
    they defiantly charge against him.

²⁷ “These wicked people are heavy and prosperous;
    their waists bulge with fat.
²⁸ But their cities will be ruined.
    They will live in abandoned houses
    that are ready to tumble down.
²⁹ Their riches will not last,
    and their wealth will not endure.
    Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.

³⁰ “They will not escape the darkness.
    The burning sun will wither their shoots,
    and the breath of God will destroy them.
³¹ Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches,
    for emptiness will be their only reward.
³² They will be cut down in the prime of life;
    their branches will never again be green.
³³ They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early,
    like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.
³⁴ For the godless are barren.
    Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.
³⁵ They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
    Their womb produces deceit.”