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)

⁶ Save us and help us with your right hand,^(K)
    that those you love may be delivered.
⁷ God has spoken^(L) from his sanctuary:^(M)
    “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem^(N)
    and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.^(O)
8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet,
    Judah^(P) is my scepter.
⁹ Moab^(Q) is my washbasin,
    on Edom^(R) I toss my sandal;
    over Philistia^(S) I shout in triumph.”

¹⁰ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
¹¹ Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us
    and no longer go out with our armies?^(T)
12 Give us aid against the enemy,
    for human help is worthless.^(U)
13 With God we will gain the victory,
    and he will trample down^(V) our enemies.