² “Truly I know it is so,
But how can a ^(A)man be ^(B)righteous before God?
³ If one wished to ^[a]contend with Him,
He could not answer Him one time out of a thousand.
^4 (C)God is wise in heart and mighty in strength.
Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
⁵ He removes the mountains, and they do not know
When He overturns them in His anger;
⁶ He ^(D)shakes the earth out of its place,
And its ^(E)pillars tremble;
⁷ He commands the sun, and it does not rise;
He seals off the stars;
^8 (F)He alone spreads out the heavens,
And ^[b]treads on the ^[c]waves of the sea;
^9 (G)He made ^[d]the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
^10 (H)He does great things past finding out,
Yes, wonders without number.
^11 (I)If He goes by me, I do not see Him;
If He moves past, I do not perceive Him;
^12 (J)If He takes away, ^[e]who can hinder Him?
Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’
¹³ God will not withdraw His anger,
^(K)The allies of ^[f]the proud lie prostrate beneath Him.

¹⁴ “How then can I answer Him,
And choose my words to reason with Him?
^15 (L)For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;
I would beg mercy of my Judge.
¹⁶ If I called and He answered me,
I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.
¹⁷ For He crushes me with a tempest,
And multiplies my wounds ^(M)without cause.
¹⁸ He will not allow me to catch my breath,
But fills me with bitterness.
¹⁹ If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;
And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?
²⁰ Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;
Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.

²¹ “I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;
I despise my life.
²² It is all one thing;
Therefore I say, ^(N)‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’
²³ If the scourge slays suddenly,
He laughs at the plight of the innocent.
²⁴ The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.
He covers the faces of its judges.
If it is not He, who else could it be?

²⁵ “Now ^(O)my days are swifter than a runner;
They flee away, they see no good.
²⁶ They pass by like ^[g]swift ships,
^(P)Like an eagle swooping on its prey.
^27 (Q)If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,
I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’
^28 (R)I am afraid of all my sufferings;
I know that You ^(S)will not hold me innocent.
²⁹ If I am condemned,
Why then do I labor in vain?
^30 (T)If I wash myself with snow water,
And cleanse my hands with ^[h]soap,
³¹ Yet You will plunge me into the pit,
And my own clothes will ^[i]abhor me.

³² “For ^(U)He is not a man, as I am,
That I may answer Him,
And that we should go to court together.
^33 (V)Nor is there any mediator between us,
Who may lay his hand on us both.
^34 (W)Let Him take His rod away from me,
And do not let dread of Him terrify me.
³⁵ Then I would speak and not fear Him,
But it is not so with me.

⁸ ‘Your^(AA) hands have made me and fashioned me,
An intricate unity;
Yet You would ^(AB)destroy me.
⁹ Remember, I pray, ^(AC)that You have made me like clay.
And will You turn me into dust again?
^10 (AD)Did You not pour me out like milk,
And curdle me like cheese,
¹¹ Clothe me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews?
¹² You have granted me life and favor,
And Your care has preserved my spirit.

¹³ ‘And these things You have hidden in Your heart;
I know that this was with You:
¹⁴ If I sin, then ^(AE)You mark me,
And will not acquit me of my iniquity.
¹⁵ If I am wicked, ^(AF)woe to me;
^(AG)Even if I am righteous, I ^[k]cannot lift up my head.
I am full of disgrace;
^(AH)See my misery!
¹⁶ If my head is exalted,
^(AI)You hunt me like a fierce lion,
And again You show Yourself awesome against me.
¹⁷ You renew Your witnesses against me,
And increase Your indignation toward me;
Changes and war are ever with me.

¹⁸ ‘Why^(AJ) then have You brought me out of the womb?
Oh, that I had perished and no eye had seen me!
¹⁹ I would have been as though I had not been.
I would have been carried from the womb to the grave.
^20 (AK)Are not my days few?
Cease! ^(AL)Leave me alone, that I may take a little comfort,
²¹ Before I go to the place from which I shall not return,
^(AM)To the land of darkness ^(AN)and the shadow of death,
²² A land as dark as darkness itself,
As the shadow of death, without any order,
Where even the light is like darkness.’ ”

² “Should not the multitude of words be answered?
And should ^[l]a man full of talk be vindicated?
³ Should your empty talk make men ^[m]hold their peace?
And when you mock, should no one rebuke you?
⁴ For you have said,
^(AO)‘My doctrine is pure,
And I am clean in your eyes.’
⁵ But oh, that God would speak,
And open His lips against you,
⁶ That He would show you the secrets of wisdom!
For they would double your prudence.
Know therefore that ^(AP)God ^[n]exacts from you
Less than your iniquity deserves.

⁷ “Can^(AQ) you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
⁸ They are higher than heaven—what can you do?
Deeper than ^[o]Sheol—what can you know?
⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.

¹⁰ “If^(AR) He passes by, imprisons, and gathers to judgment,
Then who can ^[p]hinder Him?
¹¹ For ^(AS)He knows deceitful men;
He sees wickedness also.
Will He not then consider it?
¹² For an ^(AT)empty-headed man will be wise,
When a wild donkey’s colt is born a man.

¹³ “If you would ^(AU)prepare your heart,
And ^(AV)stretch out your hands toward Him;
¹⁴ If iniquity were in your hand, and you put it far away,
And ^(AW)would not let wickedness dwell in your tents;
^15 (AX)Then surely you could lift up your face without spot;
Yes, you could be steadfast, and not fear;
¹⁶ Because you would ^(AY)forget your misery,
And remember it as waters that have passed away,
¹⁷ And your life ^(AZ)would be brighter than noonday.
Though you were dark, you would be like the morning.
¹⁸ And you would be secure, because there is hope;
Yes, you would dig around you, and ^(BA)take your rest in safety.
¹⁹ You would also lie down, and no one would make you afraid;
Yes, many would court your favor.
²⁰ But ^(BB)the eyes of the wicked will fail,
And they shall not escape,
And ^(BC)their hope—^[q]loss of life!”

² “No doubt you are the people,
And wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have ^[r]understanding as well as you;
I am not ^(BD)inferior to you.
Indeed, who does not know such things as these?

⁴ “I^(BE) am one mocked by his friends,
Who ^(BF)called on God, and He answered him,
The just and blameless who is ridiculed.
⁵ A ^[s]lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease;
It is made ready for ^(BG)those whose feet slip.
^6 (BH)The tents of robbers prosper,
And those who provoke God are secure—
In what God provides by His hand.

⁷ “But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
And the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
⁸ Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you;
And the fish of the sea will explain to you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
^10 (BI)In whose hand is the ^[t]life of every living thing,
And the ^(BJ)breath of ^[u]all mankind?
¹¹ Does not the ear test words
And the ^[v]mouth taste its food?
¹² Wisdom is with aged men,
And with ^[w]length of days, understanding.

¹³ “With Him are ^(BK)wisdom and strength,
He has counsel and understanding.
¹⁴ If ^(BL)He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt;
If He imprisons a man, there can be no release.
¹⁵ If He ^(BM)withholds the waters, they dry up;
If He ^(BN)sends them out, they overwhelm the earth.
¹⁶ With Him are strength and prudence.
The deceived and the deceiver are His.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away plundered,
And makes fools of the judges.
¹⁸ He loosens the bonds of kings,
And binds their waist with a belt.
¹⁹ He leads ^[x]princes away plundered,
And overthrows the mighty.
^20 (BO)He deprives the trusted ones of speech,
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
^21 (BP)He pours contempt on princes,
And ^[y]disarms the mighty.
²² He ^(BQ)uncovers deep things out of darkness,
And brings the shadow of death to light.
^23 (BR)He makes nations great, and destroys them;
He ^[z]enlarges nations, and guides them.
²⁴ He takes away the ^[aa]understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth,
And ^(BS)makes them wander in a pathless wilderness.
^25 (BT)They grope in the dark without light,
And He makes them ^(BU)stagger like a drunken man.