² “If someone tried to speak with you, would you be upset?
    I cannot keep from speaking.
³ Think about how many people you have taught.
    Think about how you have made weak hands strong.
⁴ Your words have comforted those who fell.
    And you have given strength to those who could not stand.
⁵ But now trouble comes to you. And you are discouraged.
    Trouble hits you, and you are terrified.
⁶ You should trust in your respect for God.
    You should have hope because you are innocent.

⁷ “Think about this now: A person who has not done wrong will not die.
    Honest people were never destroyed.
⁸ I have noticed that people who plow evil
    and plant trouble harvest it.
⁹ God’s breath destroys them.
    A blast of his anger kills them.
¹⁰ The lions roar and growl.
    But the teeth of great lions are broken.
¹¹ The lion dies because he can’t find an animal to eat.
    So the cubs of the female lion are scattered.

¹² “A word was brought to me in secret.
    My ears heard a whisper of it.
¹³ It was during troublesome dreams in the night
    when men are in deep sleep.
¹⁴ I was shaking with fear.
    All my bones were shaking.
¹⁵ A spirit glided past my face.
    The hair on my body stood up in fear.
¹⁶ The spirit stopped,
    but I could not see what it was.
A shape stood before my eyes.
    And I heard a quiet voice.
¹⁷ It said, ‘Can a man be holy in the presence of God?
    Can a man be pure before the one who made him?
¹⁸ God does not trust his servants.
    He even blames his angels for mistakes.
¹⁹ So he puts even more blame on people who live in clay houses.^[a]
    The foundations of these houses are made of dust.
    They can be crushed more easily than a moth.
²⁰ Between dawn and sunset they are broken to pieces.
    They are not noticed. They die and are gone forever.
²¹ The ropes of their tents are pulled up.
    And they die without wisdom.’