² “Can^(B) a man be profitable to God,
Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself?
³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless?

⁴ “Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
And enters into judgment with you?
⁵ Is not your wickedness great,
And your iniquity without end?
⁶ For you have ^(C)taken pledges from your brother for no reason,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷ You have not given the weary water to drink,
And you ^(D)have withheld bread from the hungry.
⁸ But the ^[a]mighty man possessed the land,
And the honorable man dwelt in it.
⁹ You have sent widows away empty,
And the ^[b]strength of the fatherless was crushed.
¹⁰ Therefore snares are all around you,
And sudden fear troubles you,
¹¹ Or darkness so that you cannot see;
And an abundance of ^(E)water covers you.

¹² “Is not God in the height of heaven?
And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!
¹³ And you say, ^(F)‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the deep darkness?
^14 (G)Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks above the circle of heaven.’
¹⁵ Will you keep to the old way
Which wicked men have trod,
¹⁶ Who ^(H)were cut down before their time,
Whose foundations were swept away by a flood?
^17 (I)They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do to ^[c]them?’
¹⁸ Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹ “The^(J) righteous see it and are glad,
And the innocent laugh at them:
²⁰ ‘Surely our ^[d]adversaries are cut down,
And the fire consumes their remnant.’

²¹ “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and ^(K)be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
²² Receive, please, ^(L)instruction from His mouth,
And ^(M)lay up His words in your heart.
²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;
You will remove iniquity far from your tents.
²⁴ Then you will ^(N)lay your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
²⁵ Yes, the Almighty will be your ^[e]gold
And your precious silver;
²⁶ For then you will have your ^(O)delight in the Almighty,
And lift up your face to God.
^27 (P)You will make your prayer to Him,
He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.
²⁸ You will also declare a thing,
And it will be established for you;
So light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ When they cast you down, and you say, ‘Exaltation will come!’
Then ^(Q)He will save the humble person.
³⁰ He will even deliver one who is not innocent;
Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands.”

² “Even today my ^(A)complaint is bitter;
^[a]My hand is listless because of my groaning.
^3 (B)Oh, that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
⁴ I would present my case before Him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would know the words which He would answer me,
And understand what He would say to me.
^6 (C)Would He contend with me in His great power?
No! But He would take note of me.
⁷ There the upright could reason with Him,
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

⁸ “Look,^(D) I go forward, but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
⁹ When He works on the left hand, I cannot behold Him;
When He turns to the right hand, I cannot see Him.
¹⁰ But ^(E)He knows the way that I take;
When ^(F)He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
^11 (G)My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
¹² I have not departed from the ^(H)commandment of His lips;
^(I)I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my ^[b]necessary food.

¹³ “But He is unique, and who can make Him change?
And whatever ^(J)His soul desires, that He does.
¹⁴ For He performs what is ^(K)appointed for me,
And many such things are with Him.
¹⁵ Therefore I am terrified at His presence;
When I consider this, I am afraid of Him.
¹⁶ For God ^(L)made my heart weak,
And the Almighty terrifies me;
¹⁷ Because I was not ^(M)cut off ^[c]from the presence of darkness,
And He did not hide deep darkness from my face.