² “As God lives, who has ^(B)taken away my right,
    and the Almighty, who has ^(C)made my soul bitter,
³ as long as my breath is in me,
    and ^(D)the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
⁴ my lips will not speak ^(E)falsehood,
    and my tongue will not utter ^(F)deceit.
⁵ Far be it from me to say that you are right;
    till I die I will not put away my ^(G)integrity from me.
⁶ I ^(H)hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
    my heart does not ^(I)reproach me for any of my days.

⁷ “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
    and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
^8 (J)For what is the hope of the godless ^(K)when God cuts him off,
    when God takes away his life?
^9 (L)Will God hear his cry
    when distress comes upon him?
¹⁰ Will he ^(M)take delight in the Almighty?
    Will he call upon God at all times?
¹¹ I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
    ^(N)what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
¹² Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
    why then have you become altogether vain?

^13 (O)“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
    and the heritage that ^(P)oppressors receive from the Almighty:
¹⁴ If his ^(Q)children are multiplied, it is for ^(R)the sword,
    and his descendants have not enough bread.
¹⁵ Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
    and his ^(S)widows do not weep.
¹⁶ Though he ^(T)heap up silver like dust,
    and pile up clothing like clay,
¹⁷ he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
    and ^(U)the innocent will divide the silver.
¹⁸ He builds his ^(V)house like a moth's,
    like ^(W)a booth that ^(X)a watchman makes.
¹⁹ He goes to bed rich, but will ^(Y)do so no more;
    he opens his eyes, and ^(Z)his wealth is gone.
^20 (AA)Terrors overtake him like ^(AB)a flood;
    in the night a whirlwind ^(AC)carries him off.
^21 (AD)The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
    it ^(AE)sweeps him out of his place.
²² It^[a] hurls at him ^(AF)without pity;
    he flees from its^[b] power in headlong flight.
²³ It ^(AG)claps its hands at him
    and ^(AH)hisses at him from its place.

⁷ “That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon's eye has not seen it.
^8 (AN)The proud beasts have not trodden it;
    ^(AO)the lion has not passed over it.

⁹ “Man puts his hand to ^(AP)the flinty rock
    and overturns mountains by the roots.
¹⁰ He cuts out channels in the rocks,
    and his eye sees every precious thing.
¹¹ He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,
    and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light.

^12 (AQ)“But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?
¹³ Man does not know its worth,
    and it is not found in ^(AR)the land of the living.
^14 (AS)The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
¹⁵ It ^(AT)cannot be bought for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued in ^(AU)the gold of ^(AV)Ophir,
    in precious ^(AW)onyx or ^(AX)sapphire.
¹⁷ Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
¹⁸ No mention shall be made of ^(AY)coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above ^(AZ)(BA)pearls.
^19 (BB)The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ “From where, then, does wisdom come?
    And where is the place of understanding?
²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of ^(BC)all living
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
^22 (BD)Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

^23 (BE)“God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
²⁴ For he ^(BF)looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ When he ^(BG)gave to the wind its weight
    and apportioned the waters by measure,
²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain
    and ^(BH)a way for the lightning of the thunder,
²⁷ then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
²⁸ And he said to man,
‘Behold, ^(BI)the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to ^(BJ)turn away from evil is understanding.’”

^26 (T)“‘Go to this people, and say,
^(U)“You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
^27 (V)For this people's heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears they can barely hear,
    and their eyes they have closed;
lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
    and ^(W)turn, and I would heal them.’

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes
    and ^(A)see the recompense of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your ^(B)dwelling place—
    the Most High, who is my ^(C)refuge^[a]—
^10 (D)no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
    ^(E)no plague come near your tent.

^11 (F)For he will command his ^(G)angels concerning you
    to ^(H)guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you ^(I)strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on ^(J)the lion and the ^(K)adder;
    the young lion and ^(L)the serpent you will ^(M)trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he ^(N)holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
    I will protect him, because he ^(O)knows my name.
¹⁵ When he ^(P)calls to me, I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and ^(Q)honor him.
¹⁶ With ^(R)long life I will satisfy him
    and ^(S)show him my salvation.”