² Can a man be profitable unto God?
Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself.
³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?
Or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
⁴ Is it ^[a]for thy fear of him that he reproveth thee,
That he entereth with thee into judgment?
⁵ Is not thy wickedness great?
Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.
⁶ For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷ Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,
And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
⁸ But as for ^[b]the mighty man, he had the ^[c]earth;
And ^[d]the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
⁹ Thou hast sent widows away empty,
And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
¹⁰ Therefore snares are round about thee,
And sudden fear troubleth thee,
^11 [e]Or darkness, so that thou canst not see,
And abundance of waters cover thee.

¹² Is not God in the height of heaven?
And behold the ^[f]height of the stars, how high they are!
¹³ And thou sayest, What doth God know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
¹⁴ Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not;
And he walketh on the vault of heaven.
^15 [g]Wilt thou keep the old way
Which wicked men have trodden?
¹⁶ Who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
¹⁷ Who said unto God, Depart from us;
And, What can the Almighty do ^[h]for ^[i]us?
¹⁸ Yet he filled their houses with good things:
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
¹⁹ The righteous see it, and are glad;
And the innocent laugh them to scorn,
²⁰ Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off,
And ^[j]the remnant of them the fire hath consumed.

²¹ Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:
^[k]Thereby good shall come unto thee.
²² Receive, I pray thee, ^[l]the law from his mouth,
And lay up his words in thy heart.
²³ If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up,
^[m]If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.
²⁴ And lay thou thy ^[n]treasure ^[o]in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
²⁵ And the Almighty will be thy ^[p]treasure,
And ^[q]precious silver unto thee.
²⁶ For then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty,
And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
²⁷ Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee;
And thou shalt pay thy vows.
²⁸ Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee;
And light shall shine upon thy ways.
²⁹ When they ^[r]cast thee down, thou shalt say, There is lifting up;
And ^[s]the humble person he will save.
³⁰ He will deliver even him that is not innocent:
Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.