² “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
^(A)And fill ^[b]himself with the east wind?
³ “Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which are not profitable?
⁴ “Indeed, you do away with ^[c]reverence
And hinder meditation before God.
⁵ “For ^(B)your guilt teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of ^(C)the crafty.
⁶ “Your ^(D)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.

¹⁷ “I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;
¹⁸ What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from ^(R)their fathers,
¹⁹ To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them.
²⁰ “The wicked man writhes ^(S)in pain all his days,
And ^[e]numbered are the years ^(T)stored up for the ruthless.
²¹ “^[f]Sounds of ^(U)terror are in his ears;
^(V)While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
²² “He does not believe that he will ^(W)return from darkness,
And he is destined for ^(X)the sword.
²³ “He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of ^(Y)darkness is ^[g]at hand.
²⁴ “Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
²⁵ Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself ^(Z)arrogantly against ^[h]the Almighty.
²⁶ “He rushes ^[i]headlong at Him
With ^[j]his massive shield.
²⁷ “For he has ^(AA)covered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh.
²⁸ “He has ^(AB)lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ^[k]ruins.
²⁹ “He ^(AC)will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not bend down to the ground.
³⁰ “He will ^(AD)not ^[l]escape from darkness;
The ^(AE)flame will wither his shoots,
And by ^(AF)the breath of His mouth he will go away.
³¹ “Let him not ^(AG)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his ^[m]reward.
³² “It will be accomplished ^(AH)before his time,
And his palm ^(AI)branch will not be green.
³³ “He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will ^(AJ)cast off his flower like the olive tree.
³⁴ “For the company of ^(AK)the godless is barren,
And fire consumes ^(AL)the tents of ^[n]the corrupt.
³⁵ “They ^(AM)conceive ^[o]mischief and bring forth iniquity,
And their ^[p]mind prepares deception.”

² “I have heard many such things;
^[r](AN)Sorry comforters are you all.
³ “Is there no limit to ^(AO)windy words?
Or what plagues you that you answer?
⁴ “I too could speak like you,
If ^[s]I were in your place.
I could compose words against you
And ^(AP)shake my head at you.
⁵ “I could strengthen you with my mouth,
And the solace of my lips could lessen your pain.

⁶ “If I speak, ^(AQ)my pain is not lessened,
And if I hold back, what has left me?
⁷ “But now He has ^(AR)exhausted me;
You have laid ^(AS)waste all my company.
⁸ “You have shriveled me up,
^(AT)It has become a witness;
And my ^(AU)leanness rises up against me,
It testifies to my face.
⁹ “His anger has ^(AV)torn me and ^[t]hunted me down,
He has ^(AW)gnashed at me with His teeth;
My ^(AX)adversary ^[u]glares at me.
¹⁰ “They have ^(AY)gaped at me with their mouth,
They have ^[v](AZ)slapped me on the cheek with contempt;
They have ^(BA)massed themselves against me.
¹¹ “God hands me over to ruffians
And tosses me into the hands of the wicked.
¹² “I was at ease, but ^(BB)He shattered me,
And He has grasped me by the neck and shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His ^(BC)target.
¹³ “His ^(BD)arrows surround me.
Without mercy He splits my kidneys open;
He pours out ^(BE)my gall on the ground.
¹⁴ “He ^(BF)breaks through me with breach after breach;
He ^(BG)runs at me like a warrior.
¹⁵ “I have sewed ^(BH)sackcloth over my skin
And ^(BI)thrust my horn in the dust.
¹⁶ “My face is flushed from ^(BJ)weeping,
^(BK)And deep darkness is on my eyelids,
¹⁷ Although there is no ^(BL)violence in my hands,
And ^(BM)my prayer is pure.