5 “Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?
    To which of ^(A)the holy ones will you turn?
² Surely vexation kills the fool,
    and jealousy slays the simple.
^3 (B)I have seen the fool taking root,
    but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
⁴ His children are ^(C)far from safety;
    they are crushed in ^(D)the gate,
    and there is no one to deliver them.
⁵ The hungry eat his harvest,
    and he takes it even out of thorns,^[a]
    and the thirsty pant^[b] after his^[c] wealth.
⁶ For affliction does not come from the dust,
    nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
⁷ but man is ^(E)born to trouble
    as the sparks fly upward.

⁸ “As for me, I would seek God,
    and to God would I commit my cause,
⁹ who ^(F)does great things and ^(G)unsearchable,
    ^(H)marvelous things without number:
¹⁰ he gives ^(I)rain on the earth
    and sends waters on the fields;
¹¹ he ^(J)sets on high those who are lowly,
    and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
¹² He ^(K)frustrates the devices of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.
¹³ He ^(L)catches the wise in their own craftiness,
    and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
¹⁴ They meet with darkness in the daytime
    and ^(M)grope at noonday as in the night.
¹⁵ But he ^(N)saves the needy from the sword of their mouth
    and from the hand of the mighty.
¹⁶ So the poor have hope,
    and ^(O)injustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷ “Behold, ^(P)blessed is the one whom God reproves;
    therefore ^(Q)despise not the discipline of the ^(R)Almighty.
¹⁸ For he wounds, but he ^(S)binds up;
    he ^(T)shatters, but his hands heal.
¹⁹ He will ^(U)deliver you from six troubles;
    in seven no ^(V)evil^[d] shall touch you.
^20 (W)In famine he will redeem you from death,
    and in war from the power of the sword.
²¹ You shall be ^(X)hidden from the lash of the tongue,
    and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
²² At destruction and famine you shall laugh,
    and shall not fear ^(Y)the beasts of the earth.
²³ For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,
    and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
²⁴ You shall know that your ^(Z)tent is at peace,
    and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
²⁵ You shall know also that your ^(AA)offspring shall be many,
    and your descendants as ^(AB)the grass of the earth.
²⁶ You shall come to your grave in ^(AC)ripe old age,
    like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
²⁷ Behold, this we have ^(AD)searched out; it is true.
    Hear, and know it for your good.”^[e]

² “Oh that my vexation were weighed,
    and all my calamity laid in the balances!
³ For then it would be heavier than ^(AE)the sand of the sea;
    therefore my words have been rash.
⁴ For ^(AF)the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
    my spirit drinks their poison;
    the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
⁵ Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,
    or the ox low over his fodder?
⁶ Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
    or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?^[f]
7 My appetite refuses to touch them;
    they are as food that is loathsome to me.^[g]

⁸ “Oh that I might have my request,
    and that God would fulfill my hope,
⁹ that it would ^(AG)please God to crush me,
    that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
¹⁰ This would be my comfort;
    I would even exult^[h] in pain ^(AH)unsparing,
    for I have not denied the words of ^(AI)the Holy One.
¹¹ What is my strength, that I should wait?
    And what is my end, that I should be patient?
¹² Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
¹³ Have I any help in me,
    when resource is driven from me?

¹⁴ “He who ^(AJ)withholds^[i] kindness from a ^(AK)friend
    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
¹⁵ My ^(AL)brothers are ^(AM)treacherous as a torrent-bed,
    as torrential ^(AN)streams that pass away,
¹⁶ which are dark with ice,
    and where the snow hides itself.
¹⁷ When they melt, they disappear;
    when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
¹⁸ The caravans turn aside from their course;
    they go up into ^(AO)the waste and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of ^(AP)Tema look,
    the travelers of ^(AQ)Sheba hope.
²⁰ They are ^(AR)ashamed because they were confident;
    they come there and are ^(AS)disappointed.
²¹ For you have now become nothing;
    you see my calamity and are afraid.
²² Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?
    Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
²³ Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary's hand’?
    Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of ^(AT)the ruthless’?

²⁴ “Teach me, and I will be silent;
    make me understand how I have gone astray.
²⁵ How forceful are upright words!
    But what does reproof from you reprove?
²⁶ Do you think that you can reprove words,
    when the speech of a despairing man is ^(AU)wind?
²⁷ You would even ^(AV)cast lots over the fatherless,
    and bargain over your friend.

²⁸ “But now, be pleased to look at me,
    for I will not lie to your face.
^29 (AW)Please turn; let no injustice be done.
    Turn now; my vindication is at stake.
³⁰ Is there any injustice on my tongue?
    Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?

⁷ “Remember that my life is a ^(BK)breath;
    my eye will never again see good.
^8 (BL)The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;
    while your eyes are on me, ^(BM)I shall be gone.
⁹ As ^(BN)the cloud fades and vanishes,
    so he who ^(BO)goes down to Sheol does not come up;
¹⁰ he ^(BP)returns no more to his house,
    nor does his ^(BQ)place know him anymore.

¹¹ “Therefore I will not ^(BR)restrain my mouth;
    I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
    I will ^(BS)complain in ^(BT)the bitterness of my soul.
¹² Am I the sea, or ^(BU)a sea monster,
    that you set a guard over me?
^13 (BV)When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
    my couch will ease my complaint,’
¹⁴ then you scare me with dreams
    and terrify me with visions,
¹⁵ so that I would choose strangling
    and death rather than my ^(BW)bones.
¹⁶ I ^(BX)loathe my life; I would not live forever.
    ^(BY)Leave me alone, for my days are ^(BZ)a breath.
^17 (CA)What is man, that you make so much of him,
    and that you set your heart on him,
^18 (CB)visit him every morning
    and ^(CC)test him every moment?
¹⁹ How long will you not ^(CD)look away from me,
    nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?
²⁰ If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?
    Why have you made me ^(CE)your mark?
    Why have I become a burden to you?
²¹ Why do you not pardon my transgression
    and take away my iniquity?
For now I shall lie in ^(CF)the earth;
    you will ^(CG)seek me, ^(CH)but I shall not be.”