² “Job, how long will you talk like that?
    Your words don’t have any meaning.
³ Does God ever treat people unfairly?
    Does the Mighty One make what is wrong
    appear to be right?
⁴ Your children sinned against him.
    So he punished them for their sin.
⁵ But seek God with all your heart.
    Make your appeal to the Mighty One.
⁶ Be pure and honest.
    And he will rise up and help you now.
    He’ll give you everything you had before.
⁷ In the past, things went well with you.
    But in days to come, things will get even better.

⁸ “Find out what our parents taught.
    Discover what those who lived before them learned.
⁹ After all, we were born only yesterday.
    So we don’t know anything.
    Our days on this earth are like a shadow that disappears.
¹⁰ Won’t your people of long ago teach you and tell you?
    Won’t the things they said help you understand?
¹¹ Can grass grow tall where there isn’t any swamp?
    Can plants grow well where there isn’t any water?
¹² While they are still growing and haven’t been cut,
    they dry up faster than grass does.
¹³ The same thing happens to everyone who forgets God.
    The hope of ungodly people dies out.
¹⁴ What they trust in is very weak.
    What they depend on is like a spider’s web.
¹⁵ They lean on it, but it falls apart.
    They hold on to it, but it gives way.
¹⁶ They are like a plant in the sunshine
    that receives plenty of water.
    It spreads its new growth all over the garden.
¹⁷ It wraps its roots around a pile of rocks.
    It tries to find places to grow among the stones.
¹⁸ But when the plant is pulled up from its spot,
    that place says, ‘I never saw you.’
¹⁹ The life of that plant is sure to dry up.
    But from the same soil other plants will grow.

²⁰ “I’m sure God doesn’t turn his back on anyone who is honest.
    And he doesn’t help those who do what is evil.
²¹ He will fill your mouth with laughter.
    Shouts of joy will come from your lips.
²² Your enemies will put on shame as if it were clothes.
    The tents of sinful people will be gone.”

⁵ Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?
    Why should I fear when sinners are all around me?
    They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.
⁶ They trust in their wealth.
    They brag about how rich they are.
⁷ No one can pay for the life of anyone else.
    No one can give God what that would cost.
⁸ The price for a life is very high.
    No payment is ever enough.
⁹ No one can pay enough to live forever
    and not rot in the grave.

¹⁰ Everyone can see that even wise people die.
    People who are foolish and who have no sense also pass away.
    All of them leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses forever.
    Their graves will be their homes for all time to come.
    Naming lands after themselves won’t help either.

¹² Even though people may be very rich, they don’t live on and on.
    They are like the animals. They die.

¹³ That’s what happens to those who trust in themselves.
    It also happens to their followers, who agree with what they say.
¹⁴ They are like sheep and will end up in the grave.
    Death will be their shepherd.
But when honest people come to power, a new day will dawn.
    The bodies of sinners will waste away in the grave.
    They will end up far away from their princely houses.
¹⁵ But God will save me from the place of the dead.
    He will certainly take me to himself.

¹⁶ Don’t get too upset when other people become rich.
    Don’t be troubled when they become more and more wealthy.
¹⁷ They won’t take anything with them when they die.
    Their riches won’t go down to the grave with them.
¹⁸ While they lived, they believed they were blessed.
    People praised them when things were going well for them.
¹⁹ But they will die, like their people of long ago.
    They will never again see the light of life.

²⁰ People who have riches but don’t understand
    are like the animals. They die.