² “Therefore my anxious thoughts make me answer,
Because of the turmoil within me.
³ I have heard the rebuke ^[a]that reproaches me,
And the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer.

⁴ “Do you not know this of ^(B)old,
Since man was placed on earth,
^5 (C)That the triumphing of the wicked is short,
And the joy of the hypocrite is but for a ^(D)moment?
^6 (E)Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens,
And his head reaches to the clouds,
⁷ Yet he will perish forever like his own refuse;
Those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
⁸ He will fly away ^(F)like a dream, and not be found;
Yes, he ^(G)will be chased away like a vision of the night.
⁹ The eye that saw him will see him no more,
Nor will his place behold him anymore.
¹⁰ His children will seek the favor of the poor,
And his hands will restore his wealth.
¹¹ His bones are full of ^(H)his youthful vigor,
^(I)But it will lie down with him in the dust.

¹² “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
And he hides it under his tongue,
¹³ Though he spares it and does not forsake it,
But still keeps it in his ^[b]mouth,
¹⁴ Yet his food in his stomach turns sour;
It becomes cobra venom within him.
¹⁵ He swallows down riches
And vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras;
The viper’s tongue will slay him.
¹⁷ He will not see ^(J)the streams,
The rivers flowing with honey and cream.
¹⁸ He will restore that for which he labored,
And will not swallow it down;
From the proceeds of business
He will get no enjoyment.
¹⁹ For he has ^[c]oppressed and forsaken the poor,
He has violently seized a house which he did not build.

²⁰ “Because^(K) he knows no quietness in his ^[d]heart,
He will not save anything he desires.
²¹ Nothing is left for him to eat;
Therefore his well-being will not last.
²² In his self-sufficiency he will be in distress;
Every hand of ^[e]misery will come against him.
²³ When he is about to fill his stomach,
God will cast on him the fury of His wrath,
And will rain it on him while he is eating.
^24 (L)He will flee from the iron weapon;
A bronze bow will pierce him through.
²⁵ It is drawn, and comes out of the body;
Yes, ^(M)the glittering point comes out of his ^[f]gall.
^(N)Terrors come upon him;
²⁶ Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
^(O)An unfanned fire will consume him;
It shall go ill with him who is left in his tent.
²⁷ The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
And the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ The increase of his house will depart,
And his goods will flow away in the day of His ^(P)wrath.
^29 (Q)This is the portion from God for a wicked man,
The heritage appointed to him by God.”

² “Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your ^[g]consolation.
³ Bear with me that I may speak,
And after I have spoken, keep ^(R)mocking.

⁴ “As for me, is my complaint against man?
And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
⁵ Look at me and be astonished;
^(S)Put your hand over your mouth.
⁶ Even when I remember I am terrified,
And trembling takes hold of my flesh.
^7 (T)Why do the wicked live and become old,
Yes, become mighty in power?
⁸ Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.
⁹ Their houses are safe from fear,
^(U)Neither is ^[h]the rod of God upon them.
¹⁰ Their bull breeds without failure;
Their cow calves ^(V)without miscarriage.
¹¹ They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.
¹² They sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.
¹³ They ^(W)spend their days in wealth,
And ^[i]in a moment go down to the ^[j]grave.
^14 (X)Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.
^15 (Y)Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And ^(Z)what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’
¹⁶ Indeed ^[k]their prosperity is not in their hand;
^(AA)The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷ “How often is the lamp of the wicked put out?
How often does their destruction come upon them,
The sorrows God ^(AB)distributes in His anger?
^18 (AC)They are like straw before the wind,
And like chaff that a storm ^[l]carries away.
¹⁹ They say, ‘God ^[m]lays up ^[n]one’s iniquity ^(AD)for his children’;
Let Him recompense him, that he may know it.
²⁰ Let his eyes see his destruction,
And ^(AE)let him drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
²¹ For what does he care about his household after him,
When the number of his months is cut in half?

²² “Can^(AF) anyone teach God knowledge,
Since He judges those on high?
²³ One dies in his full strength,
Being wholly at ease and secure;
²⁴ His ^[o]pails are full of milk,
And the marrow of his bones is moist.
²⁵ Another man dies in the bitterness of his soul,
Never having eaten with pleasure.
²⁶ They ^(AG)lie down alike in the dust,
And worms cover them.

²⁷ “Look, I know your thoughts,
And the schemes with which you would wrong me.
²⁸ For you say,
‘Where is the house of the prince?
And where is ^[p]the tent,
The dwelling place of the wicked?’
²⁹ Have you not asked those who travel the road?
And do you not know their signs?
^30 (AH)For the wicked are reserved for the day of doom;
They shall be brought out on the day of wrath.
³¹ Who condemns his way to his face?
And who repays him for what he has done?
³² Yet he shall be brought to the grave,
And a vigil kept over the tomb.
³³ The clods of the valley shall be sweet to him;
^(AI)Everyone shall follow him,
As countless have gone before him.
³⁴ How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since ^[q]falsehood remains in your answers?”