² “Truly I know it is so,
But how can a ^(A)man be ^(B)righteous before God?
³ If one wished to ^[a]contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
^4 (C)God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
⁵ He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;
⁶ He ^(D)shakes the earth out of its place,
And its ^(E)pillars tremble;
⁷ He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
He seals off the stars;
^8 (F)He alone spreads out the heavens,
And ^[b]treads on the ^[c]waves of the sea;
^9 (G)He made ^[d]the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
^10 (H)He does great things past finding out,
Yes, wonders without number.
^11 (I)If He goes by me, I do not see Him;
If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;
^12 (J)If He takes away, ^[e]who can hinder Him?
Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
¹³ God will not withdraw His anger,
^(K)The allies of ^[f]the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

¹⁴ “How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words to reason with Him?
^15 (L)For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;
I would beg mercy of my Judge.
¹⁶ If I called and He answered me,
I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.
¹⁷ For He crushes me with a tempest,
And multiplies my wounds ^(M)without cause.
¹⁸ He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills me with bitterness.
¹⁹ If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;
And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?
²⁰ Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

²¹ “I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;
I despise my life.
²² It is all one thing;
Therefore I say, ^(N)‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’
²³ If the scourge slays suddenly,
He laughs at the plight of the innocent.
²⁴ The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, who else could it be?

²⁵ “Now ^(O)my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.
²⁶ They pass by like ^[g]swift ships,
^(P)Like an eagle swooping on its prey.
^27 (Q)If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’
^28 (R)I am afraid of all my sufferings;
I know that You ^(S)will not hold me innocent.
²⁹ If I am condemned,
Why then do I labor in vain?
^30 (T)If I wash myself with snow water,
And cleanse my hands with ^[h]soap,
³¹ Yet You will plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes will ^[i]abhor me.

³² “For ^(U)He is not a man, as I am,
That I may answer Him,
And that we should go to court together.
^33 (V)Nor is there any mediator between us,
Who may lay his hand on us both.
^34 (W)Let Him take His rod away from me,
And do not let dread of Him terrify me.
³⁵ Then I would speak and not fear Him,
But it is not so with me.