14 “Man who is born of woman
Is of few days and full of trouble.
² He comes forth like a flower and fades away;
He flees like a shadow and does not continue.
³ And do You open Your eyes on such a one,
And bring me^[a] to judgment with Yourself?
⁴ Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
No one!
⁵ Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass.
⁶ Look away from him that he may rest,
Till like a hired man he finishes his day.

⁷ “For there is hope for a tree,
If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And that its tender shoots will not cease.
⁸ Though its root may grow old in the earth,
And its stump may die in the ground,
⁹ Yet at the scent of water it will bud
And bring forth branches like a plant.
¹⁰ But man dies and is laid away;
Indeed he breathes his last
And where is he?
¹¹ As water disappears from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dries up,
¹² So man lies down and does not rise.
Till the heavens are no more,
They will not awake
Nor be roused from their sleep.

¹³ “Oh, that You would hide me in the grave,
That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past,
That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
¹⁴ If a man dies, shall he live again?
All the days of my hard service I will wait,
Till my change comes.
¹⁵ You shall call, and I will answer You;
You shall desire the work of Your hands.
¹⁶ For now You number my steps,
But do not watch over my sin.
¹⁷ My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
And You cover^[b] my iniquity.

¹⁸ “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away,
And as a rock is moved from its place;
¹⁹ As water wears away stones,
And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
So You destroy the hope of man.
²⁰ You prevail forever against him, and he passes on;
You change his countenance and send him away.
²¹ His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;
They are brought low, and he does not perceive it.
²² But his flesh will be in pain over it,
And his soul will mourn over it.”

² “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill 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 prayer before God.
⁵ For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
⁶ Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.

⁷ “Are you the first man who was born?
Or were you made before the hills?
⁸ Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
⁹ What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
¹⁰ 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 gently^[c] with you?
¹² Why does your heart carry you away,
And 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 is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
¹⁵ If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
¹⁶ How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
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 from their fathers,
¹⁹ To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them:
²⁰ The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
²¹ Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
²² He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.
²³ He wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows 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 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 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 continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
³⁰ He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
³¹ Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
³² It will be accomplished 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 They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”

² “I have heard many such things;
Miserable comforters are you all!
³ Shall words of wind have an end?
Or what provokes you that you answer?
⁴ I also could speak as you do,
If your soul were in my soul’s place.
I could heap up words against you,
And shake my head at you;
⁵ But I would strengthen you with my mouth,
And the comfort of my lips would relieve your grief.

⁶ “Though I speak, my grief is not relieved;
And if I remain silent, how am I eased?
⁷ But now He has worn me out;
You have made desolate all my company.
⁸ You have shriveled me up,
And it is a witness against me;
My leanness rises up against me
And bears witness to my face.
⁹ He tears me in His wrath, and hates me;
He gnashes at me with His teeth;
My adversary sharpens His gaze on me.
¹⁰ They gape at me with their mouth,
They strike me reproachfully on the cheek,
They gather together against me.
¹¹ God has delivered me to the ungodly,
And turned me over to the hands of the wicked.
¹² I was at ease, but He has shattered me;
He also has taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces;
He has set me up for His target,
¹³ His archers surround me.
He pierces my heart^[d] and does not pity;
He pours out my gall on the ground.
¹⁴ He breaks me with wound upon wound;
He runs at me like a warrior.^[e]

¹⁵ “I have sewn sackcloth over my skin,
And laid my head^[f] in the dust.
¹⁶ My face is flushed from weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
¹⁷ Although no violence is in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.

¹⁸ “O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let my cry have no resting place!
¹⁹ Surely even now my witness is in heaven,
And my evidence is on high.
²⁰ My friends scorn me;
My eyes pour out tears to God.
²¹ Oh, that one might plead for a man with God,
As a man pleads for his neighbor!
²² For when a few years are finished,
I shall go the way of no return.

³ “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself.
Who is he who will shake hands with me?
⁴ For You have hidden their heart from understanding;
Therefore You will not exalt them.
⁵ He who speaks flattery to his friends,
Even the eyes of his children will fail.

⁶ “But He has made me a byword of the people,
And I have become one in whose face men spit.
⁷ My eye has also grown dim because of sorrow,
And all my members are like shadows.
⁸ Upright men are astonished at this,
And the innocent stirs himself up against the hypocrite.
⁹ Yet the righteous will hold to his way,
And he who has clean hands will be stronger and stronger.

¹⁰ “But please, come back again, all of you,^[g]
For I shall not find one wise man among you.
¹¹ My days are past,
My purposes are broken off,
Even the thoughts of my heart.
¹² They change the night into day;
‘The light is near,’ they say, in the face of darkness.
¹³ If I wait for the grave as my house,
If I make my bed in the darkness,
¹⁴ If I say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’
And to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister,’
¹⁵ Where then is my hope?
As for my hope, who can see it?
¹⁶ Will they go down to the gates of Sheol?
Shall we have rest together in the dust?”