⁴ “God is wise in heart and mighty in power.
Who could oppose him and win?
⁵ He moves mountains without their knowing it,
and he topples them in his anger.
⁶ He shakes the earth from its place,
and its pillars tremble.
⁷ He commands the sun not to rise.
He doesn’t let the stars come out.
⁸ He stretches out the heavens by himself
and walks on the waves of the sea.
⁹ He made ⌞the constellations⌟ Ursa Major, Orion, and the Pleiades,
and the clusters of stars in the south.
¹⁰ He does great things that are unsearchable
and miracles that cannot be numbered.
¹¹ He passes alongside of me, and I don’t even see him.
He goes past me, and I don’t even notice him.
¹² He takes something away, ⌞but⌟ who can stop him?
Who is going to ask him, ‘What are you doing?’
¹³ God does not hold back his anger.
Even Rahab’s^[a] helpers bow humbly in front of him.

¹⁴ “How can I possibly answer God?
How can I find the right words ⌞to speak⌟ with him?
¹⁵ Even if I were right, I could not answer ⌞him⌟.
I would have to plead for mercy from my judge.
¹⁶ If I cried out and he answered me,
I do not believe that he would listen to me.
¹⁷ He would knock me down with a storm
and bruise me without a reason.
¹⁸ He would not let me catch my breath.
He fills me with bitterness.
¹⁹ If it is a matter of strength,
then he is the mighty one.
If it is about justice,
who will charge me with a crime?
²⁰ If I am righteous, my own mouth would condemn me.
It would declare that I am corrupt even if I am a man of integrity.
²¹ If I am a man of integrity, I have no way of knowing it.
I hate my life!
²² It is all the same.
That is why I say,
‘He destroys ⌞both⌟ the man of integrity and the wicked.’
²³ When a sudden disaster brings death,
he makes fun of the despair of innocent people.
²⁴ The earth is handed over to the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If he isn’t the one ⌞doing this⌟, who is?

²⁵ “My days go by more quickly than a runner.
They sprint away.
They don’t see anything good.
²⁶ They pass by quickly like boats made from reeds,
like an eagle swooping down on its prey.
²⁷ ⌞Even⌟ if I say, ‘I will forget my complaining;
I will change my expression and smile,’
²⁸ I ⌞still⌟ dread everything I must suffer.
I know that you won’t declare me innocent.
²⁹ I’ve already been found guilty.
Why should I work so hard for nothing?
³⁰ If I wash myself with lye soap^[b]
and cleanse my hands with bleach,
³¹ then you would plunge me into a muddy pit,
and my own clothes would find me disgusting.
³² A human like me cannot answer God,
‘Let’s take our case to court.’
³³ There is no mediator between us
to put his hand on both of us.
³⁴ God should take his rod away from me,
and he should not terrify me.^[c]
35 Then I would speak and not be afraid of him.
But I know that I am not like that.