Beginning

² “Don’t all your words require an answer?
    I’m sure that what you are saying can’t be right.
³ Your useless talk won’t keep us quiet.
    Someone has to correct you when you make fun of truth.
⁴ You say to God, ‘My beliefs are perfect.
    I’m pure in your sight.’
⁵ I wish God would speak.
    I wish he’d answer you.
⁶ I wish he’d show you the secrets of wisdom.
    After all, true wisdom has two sides.
Here’s what I want you to know.
    God has forgotten some of your sins.

⁷ “Do you know how deep the mysteries of God are?
    Can you discover the limits of the Mighty One’s knowledge?
⁸ They are higher than the heavens above.
    What can you do?
They are deeper than the deepest parts of the earth below.
    What can you know?
⁹ They are longer than the earth.
    They are wider than the ocean.

¹⁰ “Suppose God comes along and puts you in prison.
    Suppose he takes you to court.
    Then who can oppose him?
¹¹ He certainly knows when people tell lies.
    When he sees evil, he pays careful attention to it.
¹² A wild donkey’s colt can’t be born a human being.
    And it’s just as impossible that a person without sense can become wise.

¹³ “So commit yourself to God completely.
    Reach out your hands to him for help.
¹⁴ Get rid of all the sin you have.
    Don’t let anything that is evil stay in your tent.
¹⁵ Then, free of those things, you can face others.
    You can stand firm without being afraid.
¹⁶ You can be sure you will forget your troubles.
    They will be like water that has flowed on by.
¹⁷ Life will be brighter than the sun at noon.
    And darkness will become like morning.
¹⁸ You will be secure, because there is hope.
    You will look around you and find a safe place to rest.
¹⁹ You will lie down, and no one will make you afraid.
    Many people will want you to help them.
²⁰ But sinful people won’t find what they are looking for.
    They won’t be able to escape.
    All they can hope for is to die.”

² “You people think you are the only ones who matter!
    You are sure that wisdom will die with you!
³ But I have a brain, just like you.
    I’m as clever as you are.
    In fact, everyone knows as much as you do.

⁴ “My friends laugh at me all the time,
    even though I called out to God and he answered.
My friends laugh at me,
    even though I’m honest and right.
⁵ People who have an easy life look down on those who have problems.
    They think trouble comes only to those whose feet are slipping.
⁶ Why doesn’t anyone bother the tents of robbers?
    Why do those who make God angry remain secure?
    They are in God’s hands!

⁷ “But ask the animals what God does.
    They will teach you.
Or ask the birds in the sky.
    They will tell you.
⁸ Or speak to the earth. It will teach you.
    Or let the fish in the ocean educate you.
⁹ Are there any of these creatures that don’t know
    what the powerful hand of the Lord has done?
¹⁰ He holds the life of every creature in his hand.
    He controls the breath of every human being.
¹¹ Our tongues tell us what tastes good and what doesn’t.
    And our ears tell us what’s true and what isn’t.
¹² Old people are wise.
    Those who live a long time have understanding.

¹³ “Wisdom and power belong to God.
    Advice and understanding also belong to him.
¹⁴ What he tears down can’t be rebuilt.
    The people he puts in prison can’t be set free.
¹⁵ If he holds back the water, everything dries up.
    If he lets the water loose, it floods the land.
¹⁶ Strength and understanding belong to him.
    Those who tell lies and those who believe them also belong to him.
¹⁷ He removes the wisdom of rulers and leads them away.
    He makes judges look foolish.
¹⁸ He sets people free from the chains that kings put on them.
    Then he dresses the kings in the clothes of slaves.
¹⁹ He removes the authority of priests and leads them away.
    He removes from their positions
    officials who have been in control for a long time.
²⁰ He shuts the mouths of trusted advisers.
    He takes away the understanding of elders.
²¹ He looks down on proud leaders.
    He takes away the strength of those who are mighty.
²² He tells people the secrets of darkness.
    He brings total darkness out into the light.
²³ He makes nations great, and then he destroys them.
    He makes nations grow, and then he scatters them.
²⁴ He takes away the understanding of the leaders of the earth.
    He makes them wander in a desert where no one lives.
²⁵ Without any light, they feel their way along in darkness.
    God makes them unsteady like those who get drunk.

13 “My eyes have seen everything God has done.
    My ears have heard it and understood it.
² What you know, I also know.
    I’m as clever as you are.
³ In fact, I long to speak to the Mighty One.
    I want to argue my case with God.
⁴ But you spread lies about me and take away my good name.
    If you are trying to heal me,
    you aren’t very good doctors!
⁵ I wish you would keep your mouths shut!
    Then people would think you were wise.
⁶ Listen to my case.
    Listen as I make my appeal.
⁷ Will you say evil things in order to help God?
    Will you tell lies for him?
⁸ Do you want to be on God’s side?
    Will you argue his case for him?
⁹ Would it turn out well if he looked you over carefully?
    Could you fool him as you might fool human beings?
¹⁰ He would certainly hold you responsible
    if you took his side in secret.
¹¹ Wouldn’t his glory terrify you?
    Wouldn’t the fear of him fall on you?
¹² Your sayings are as useless as ashes.
    The answers you give are as weak as clay.

¹³ “So be quiet and let me speak.
    Then I won’t care what happens to me.
¹⁴ Why do I put myself in danger?
    Why do I take my life in my hands?
¹⁵ Even if God kills me, I’ll still put my hope in him.
    I’ll argue my case in front of him.
¹⁶ No matter how things turn out,
    I’m sure I’ll still be saved.
After all, no ungodly person
    would dare to come into his court.
¹⁷ Listen carefully to what I’m saying.
    Pay close attention to my words.
¹⁸ I’ve prepared my case.
    And I know I’ll be proved right.
¹⁹ Can others bring charges against me?
    If they can, I’ll keep quiet and die.

²⁰ “God, I won’t hide from you.
    Here are the only two things I want.
²¹ Stop treating me this way.
    And stop making me so afraid.
²² Then send for me, and I’ll answer.
    Or let me speak, and you reply.
²³ How many things have I done wrong?
    How many sins have I committed?
    Show me my crime. Show me my sin.
²⁴ Why do you turn your face away from me?
    Why do you think of me as your enemy?
²⁵ I’m already like a leaf that is blown by the wind.
    Are you going to terrify me even more?
I’m already like dry straw.
    Are you going to keep on chasing me?
²⁶ You write down bitter things against me.
    You make me suffer for the sins
    I committed when I was young.
²⁷ You put my feet in chains.
    You watch every step I take.
    You do it by putting marks on the bottom of my feet.

²⁸ “People waste away like something that is rotten.
    They are like clothes that are eaten by moths.