Bible in 90 Days

² “How long will you say these things,
    and the words of your mouth be a ^(B)great wind?
^3 (C)Does God pervert justice?
    Or does the Almighty pervert the right?
⁴ If your ^(D)children have sinned against him,
    he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.
⁵ If you will seek God
    and ^(E)plead with the Almighty for mercy,
⁶ if you are pure and upright,
    surely then he will ^(F)rouse himself for you
    and ^(G)restore your rightful habitation.
⁷ And though your beginning was small,
    ^(H)your latter days will be very great.

⁸ “For ^(I)inquire, please, of bygone ages,
    and consider what ^(J)the fathers have searched out.
⁹ For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,
    for our days on earth are ^(K)a shadow.
¹⁰ Will they not teach you and tell you
    and utter words out of their understanding?

¹¹ “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?
    Can reeds flourish where there is no water?
¹² While yet in flower and not cut down,
    they ^(L)wither before any other plant.
¹³ Such are the paths of all who ^(M)forget God;
    ^(N)the hope of ^(O)the godless shall perish.
¹⁴ His confidence is severed,
    and his trust is ^(P)a spider's web.^[a]
15 He leans against his ^(Q)house, but it does not stand;
    he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.
¹⁶ He is a lush plant before the sun,
    and his ^(R)shoots spread over his garden.
¹⁷ His roots entwine the stone heap;
    he looks upon a house of stones.
¹⁸ If he is destroyed from his ^(S)place,
    then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never ^(T)seen you.’
¹⁹ Behold, this is the joy of his way,
    and out of ^(U)the soil others will spring.

²⁰ “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,
    nor take the hand of evildoers.
²¹ He will yet ^(V)fill your mouth with laughter,
    and your lips with shouting.
²² Those who hate you will be ^(W)clothed with shame,
    and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

² “Truly I know that it is so:
    But how can a man be ^(X)in the right before God?
³ If one wished to ^(Y)contend with him,
    one could not answer him once in a thousand times.
⁴ He is ^(Z)wise in heart and mighty in strength
    —who has ^(AA)hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—
⁵ he who removes mountains, and they know it not,
    when he overturns them in his anger,
⁶ who ^(AB)shakes the earth out of its place,
    and ^(AC)its pillars tremble;
⁷ who commands the sun, and it does not rise;
    who seals up the stars;
⁸ who alone ^(AD)stretched out the heavens
    and trampled the waves of the sea;
⁹ who ^(AE)made ^(AF)the Bear and ^(AG)Orion,
    the Pleiades ^(AH)and the chambers of the south;
¹⁰ who does ^(AI)great things beyond searching out,
    and marvelous things beyond number.
¹¹ Behold, he passes by me, and I ^(AJ)see him not;
    he moves on, but I do not perceive him.
¹² Behold, he snatches away; ^(AK)who can turn him back?
    ^(AL)Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?’

¹³ “God will not turn back his anger;
    beneath him bowed the helpers of ^(AM)Rahab.
^14 (AN)How then can I ^(AO)answer him,
    choosing my words with him?
^15 (AP)Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;
    I must ^(AQ)appeal for mercy to my accuser.^[b]
16 If I summoned him 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 ^(AR)without cause;
¹⁸ he will not let me get my breath,
    but fills me with bitterness.
¹⁹ If it is a contest of ^(AS)strength, behold, he is mighty!
    If it is a matter of justice, who can ^(AT)summon him?^[c]
20 Though I am in the right, ^(AU)my own mouth would condemn me;
    though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.
²¹ I am ^(AV)blameless; I regard not myself;
    I ^(AW)loathe my life.
²² It is all one; therefore I say,
    ‘He ^(AX)destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’
²³ When ^(AY)disaster brings sudden death,
    he mocks at the calamity^[d] of the innocent.
^24 (AZ)The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;
    he ^(BA)covers the faces of its judges—
    ^(BB)if it is not he, who then is it?

²⁵ “My ^(BC)days are swifter than ^(BD)a runner;
    they flee away; they see no good.
²⁶ They go by like ^(BE)skiffs of reed,
    like ^(BF)an eagle swooping on the prey.
²⁷ If I say, ^(BG)‘I will forget my complaint,
    I will put off my sad face, and ^(BH)be of good cheer,’
²⁸ I become ^(BI)afraid of all my suffering,
    for I know you will not ^(BJ)hold me innocent.
²⁹ I shall be ^(BK)condemned;
    why then do I labor in vain?
³⁰ If I wash myself with snow
    and ^(BL)cleanse my hands with lye,
³¹ yet you will plunge me into a pit,
    and my own clothes will ^(BM)abhor me.
³² For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,
    that we should ^(BN)come to trial together.
^33 (BO)There is no^[e] arbiter between us,
    who might lay his hand on us both.
^34 (BP)Let him take his ^(BQ)rod away from me,
    and let ^(BR)not dread of him terrify me.
³⁵ Then I would speak without fear of him,
    for I am not so in myself.

^18 (CT)“Why did you bring me out from the womb?
    Would that I had died before any eye had seen me
^19 (CU)and were as though I had not been,
    carried from the womb to the grave.
^20 (CV)Are not my days few?
    ^(CW)Then cease, and leave me alone, ^(CX)that I may find a little cheer
²¹ before I go—and ^(CY)I shall not return—
    to the land of ^(CZ)darkness and ^(DA)deep shadow,
²² the land of gloom like thick darkness,
    like deep shadow without any order,
    where light is as thick darkness.”

² “Should ^(DC)a multitude of words go unanswered,
    and a man full of talk be judged right?
³ Should your babble silence men,
    and when you mock, shall no one shame you?
⁴ For ^(DD)you say, ‘My ^(DE)doctrine is pure,
    and I am clean in God's^[g] eyes.’
⁵ But oh, that God would speak
    and open his lips to you,
⁶ and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!
    For he is manifold in ^(DF)understanding.^[h]
Know then that God ^(DG)exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.

^7 (DH)“Can you find out the deep things of God?
    Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?
⁸ It is ^(DI)higher than heaven^[i]—what can you do?
    Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?
⁹ Its measure is longer than the earth
    and broader than the sea.
¹⁰ If he ^(DJ)passes through and ^(DK)imprisons
    and summons the court, who can ^(DL)turn him back?
¹¹ For he knows ^(DM)worthless men;
    when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?
¹² But a stupid man will get understanding
    when ^(DN)a wild donkey's colt is ^(DO)born a man!

¹³ “If you ^(DP)prepare your heart,
    you will ^(DQ)stretch out your hands toward him.
¹⁴ If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,
    and let not injustice dwell in your tents.
¹⁵ Surely then you will ^(DR)lift up your face without ^(DS)blemish;
    you will be secure and will not fear.
¹⁶ You will ^(DT)forget your misery;
    you will remember it as waters that have passed away.
¹⁷ And your life will be ^(DU)brighter than the noonday;
    its darkness will be like the morning.
¹⁸ And you will feel secure, because there is hope;
    you will look around and ^(DV)take your rest in security.
¹⁹ You will ^(DW)lie down, and none will make you afraid;
    many will ^(DX)court your favor.
²⁰ But ^(DY)the eyes of the wicked will fail;
    all way of escape will be lost to them,
    and their hope is ^(DZ)to breathe their last.”

² “No doubt you are the people,
    and wisdom will die with you.
³ But I have ^(EA)understanding as well as you;
    I am not inferior to you.
    Who does not know ^(EB)such things as these?
⁴ I am ^(EC)a laughingstock to my friends;
    I, who ^(ED)called to God and he answered me,
    a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
⁵ In the thought of one who is ^(EE)at ease there is contempt for misfortune;
    it is ready for those whose feet slip.
^6 (EF)The tents of robbers are at peace,
    and those who provoke God are secure,
    who bring their god in their hand.^[j]

⁷ “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
    the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
⁸ or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;^[k]
    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
⁹ Who among all these does not know
    that ^(EG)the hand of the Lord has done this?
¹⁰ In ^(EH)his hand is the life of every living thing
    and the breath of all mankind.
¹¹ Does not ^(EI)the ear test words
    as the palate tastes food?
¹² Wisdom is with ^(EJ)the aged,
    and understanding in length of days.

^13 (EK)“With God^[l] are wisdom and might;
    he has counsel and understanding.
¹⁴ If he tears down, none can rebuild;
    if he ^(EL)shuts a man in, none can open.
¹⁵ If he ^(EM)withholds the waters, they dry up;
    if he ^(EN)sends them out, they overwhelm the land.
¹⁶ With him are strength and ^(EO)sound wisdom;
    the deceived and the deceiver are his.
¹⁷ He leads ^(EP)counselors away stripped,
    and ^(EQ)judges he makes fools.
¹⁸ He ^(ER)looses the bonds of kings
    and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped
    and overthrows the mighty.
²⁰ He deprives of speech those who are trusted
    ^(ES)and takes away the discernment of the elders.
²¹ He ^(ET)pours contempt on princes
    and loosens the belt of the strong.
²² He ^(EU)uncovers the deeps out of darkness
    and brings ^(EV)deep darkness to light.
²³ He ^(EW)makes nations great, and he destroys them;
    he enlarges nations, and ^(EX)leads them away.
²⁴ He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth
    and ^(EY)makes them wander in a trackless waste.
²⁵ They ^(EZ)grope in the dark without light,
    and he makes them ^(FA)stagger like a drunken man.

¹³ “Let me have silence, and I will speak,
    and let come on me what may.
¹⁴ Why should I take my flesh in my teeth
    and ^(FO)put my life in my hand?
^15 (FP)Though he slay me, I will ^(FQ)hope in him;^[m]
    yet I will ^(FR)argue my ways to his face.
¹⁶ This will be my salvation,
    that the godless shall not come before him.
^17 (FS)Keep listening to my words,
    and let my declaration be in your ears.
¹⁸ Behold, I have ^(FT)prepared my case;
    I know that I shall be in the right.
^19 (FU)Who is there who will contend with me?
    For then I would be silent and die.
²⁰ Only grant me two things,
    then I will not ^(FV)hide myself from your face:
^21 (FW)withdraw your hand far from me,
    and let not ^(FX)dread of you terrify me.
^22 (FY)Then call, and I will answer;
    or let me speak, and you reply to me.
²³ How many are my iniquities and my sins?
    ^(FZ)Make me know my transgression and my sin.
²⁴ Why ^(GA)do you hide your face
    and ^(GB)count me as your enemy?
²⁵ Will you frighten ^(GC)a driven leaf
    and pursue dry ^(GD)chaff?
²⁶ For you ^(GE)write bitter things against me
    and make me inherit ^(GF)the iniquities of my youth.
²⁷ You put my feet in ^(GG)the stocks
    and ^(GH)watch all my paths;
    you set a limit for^[n] the soles of my feet.
²⁸ Man^[o] wastes away like ^(GI)a rotten thing,
    like a garment that is ^(GJ)moth-eaten.

⁷ “For there is hope for a tree,
    if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
    and that its shoots will not cease.
⁸ Though its root grow old in the earth,
    and ^(GX)its stump die in the soil,
⁹ yet at the scent of water it will bud
    and put out ^(GY)branches like a young plant.
¹⁰ But a man dies and is laid low;
    man breathes his last, and ^(GZ)where is he?
^11 (HA)As waters fail from a lake
    and a river wastes away and dries up,
¹² so a man lies down and rises not again;
    till ^(HB)the heavens are no more he will not awake
    or be ^(HC)roused out of his sleep.
¹³ Oh that you would ^(HD)hide me in ^(HE)Sheol,
    that you would ^(HF)conceal me ^(HG)until your wrath be past,
    that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!
¹⁴ If a man dies, shall he live again?
    All the days of my ^(HH)service I would ^(HI)wait,
    till my renewal^[q] should come.
¹⁵ You would ^(HJ)call, and I would answer you;
    you would long for the ^(HK)work of your hands.
¹⁶ For then you would ^(HL)number my steps;
    you would not keep ^(HM)watch over my sin;
¹⁷ my transgression would be ^(HN)sealed up in a bag,
    and you would cover over my iniquity.

¹⁸ “But the mountain falls and ^(HO)crumbles away,
    and ^(HP)the rock is removed from its place;
¹⁹ the waters wear away the stones;
    the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;
    so you destroy the hope of man.
²⁰ You prevail forever against him, and he passes;
    you change his countenance, and send him away.
²¹ His sons come to honor, and he ^(HQ)does not know it;
    they are brought low, and he perceives it not.
²² He feels only the pain of his own body,
    and he mourns only for himself.”

² “Should ^(HS)a wise man answer with ^(HT)windy knowledge,
    and fill his ^(HU)belly with ^(HV)the east wind?
³ Should he argue in unprofitable talk,
    or in words with which he can do no good?
⁴ But you are doing away with the fear of God^[r]
    and hindering meditation before God.
⁵ For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
    and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
⁶ Your ^(HW)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
    ^(HX)your own lips testify against you.

^7 (HY)“Are you the first man who was born?
    Or ^(HZ)were you brought forth ^(IA)before the hills?
⁸ Have you listened in ^(IB)the council of God?
    And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
^9 (IC)What do you know that we do not know?
    What do you understand that is not clear to us?
^10 (ID)Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
    older than your father.
¹¹ Are the comforts of God too small for you,
    or the word that deals gently with you?
¹² Why does your heart carry you away,
    and why do your eyes flash,
¹³ that you turn your ^(IE)spirit against God
    and bring such words out of your mouth?
^14 (IF)What is man, ^(IG)that he can be pure?
    Or he who is ^(IH)born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
¹⁵ Behold, God^{[s] (II)}puts no trust in his ^(IJ)holy ones,
    and the heavens are not pure in his sight;
^16 (IK)how much less one who is abominable and ^(IL)corrupt,
    a man who ^(IM)drinks injustice like water!

¹⁷ “I will show you; hear me,
    and what I have seen I will declare
¹⁸ (what wise men have told,
    without hiding it ^(IN)from their fathers,
¹⁹ to whom alone the land was given,
    and no ^(IO)stranger passed among them).
²⁰ The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
    through all the ^(IP)years that are laid up for ^(IQ)the ruthless.
^21 (IR)Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
    in ^(IS)prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.
²² He does not believe that he will return out of darkness,
    and he is marked for the sword.
²³ He ^(IT)wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
    He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
²⁴ distress and anguish terrify him;
    they ^(IU)prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.
²⁵ Because he has stretched out his hand against God
    and defies the Almighty,
^26 (IV)running ^(IW)stubbornly against him
    with a thickly bossed shield;
²⁷ because he has ^(IX)covered his face with his fat
    and gathered fat upon his waist
²⁸ and has lived in desolate cities,
    in houses that none should inhabit,
    which were ready to become heaps of ruins;
²⁹ he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure,
    nor will his possessions spread over the earth;^[t]
30 he will not depart from darkness;
    the flame will dry up his shoots,
    and by ^(IY)the breath of his mouth he will depart.
³¹ Let him not ^(IZ)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself,
    for emptiness will be his payment.
³² It will be paid in full ^(JA)before his time,
    and his branch will not be green.
³³ He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine,
    and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.
³⁴ For ^(JB)the company of the godless is barren,
    and ^(JC)fire consumes the tents of bribery.
³⁵ They ^(JD)conceive trouble and give birth to evil,
    and their ^(JE)womb prepares deceit.”

² “I have heard ^(JF)many such things;
    ^(JG)miserable comforters are you all.
³ Shall ^(JH)windy words have an end?
    Or what provokes you that you answer?
⁴ I also could speak as you do,
    if you were in my place;
I could join words together against you
    and ^(JI)shake my head at you.
⁵ I could strengthen you with my mouth,
    and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain.

⁶ “If I speak, my pain is not assuaged,
    and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?
⁷ Surely now God has worn me out;
    ^(JJ)he has^[u] made desolate all my company.
⁸ And he has shriveled me up,
    which is ^(JK)a witness against me,
and my ^(JL)leanness has risen up against me;
    it testifies to my face.
⁹ He has ^(JM)torn me in his wrath ^(JN)and hated me;
    he has ^(JO)gnashed his teeth at me;
    my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.
¹⁰ Men have ^(JP)gaped at me with their mouth;
    they have ^(JQ)struck me insolently on the cheek;
    they ^(JR)mass themselves together against me.
¹¹ God gives me up to the ungodly
    and casts me into the hands of the wicked.
¹² I was at ease, and he broke me apart;
    he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces;
he set me up as his ^(JS)target;
¹³     his ^(JT)archers surround me.
He slashes open my kidneys ^(JU)and does not spare;
    he ^(JV)pours out my gall on the ground.
¹⁴ He breaks me with ^(JW)breach upon breach;
    he ^(JX)runs upon me like a warrior.
¹⁵ I have sewed ^(JY)sackcloth upon my skin
    and have laid ^(JZ)my strength ^(KA)in the dust.
¹⁶ My face is red with weeping,
    and on my eyelids is ^(KB)deep darkness,
¹⁷ although there is no ^(KC)violence in my hands,
    and my prayer is pure.

¹⁸ “O earth, ^(KD)cover not my blood,
    and let my ^(KE)cry find no resting place.
¹⁹ Even now, behold, my ^(KF)witness is in heaven,
    and he who testifies for me is ^(KG)on high.
²⁰ My friends ^(KH)scorn me;
    my eye pours out tears to God,
²¹ that he would ^(KI)argue the case of a man with God,
    as^[v] a son of man does with his neighbor.
²² For when a few years have come
    I shall go the way ^(KJ)from which I shall not return.

³ “Lay down a pledge for me with you;
    who is there who will put up ^(KN)security for me?
⁴ Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,
    therefore you will not let them triumph.
⁵ He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—
    the ^(KO)eyes of his children will fail.

⁶ “He has made me ^(KP)a byword of the peoples,
    and I am one before whom men spit.
⁷ My ^(KQ)eye has grown dim from vexation,
    and all my members are like ^(KR)a shadow.
⁸ The upright are ^(KS)appalled at this,
    and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.
⁹ Yet the righteous holds to his way,
    and he who has ^(KT)clean hands grows stronger and stronger.
¹⁰ But you, ^(KU)come on again, all of you,
    and I shall not find a wise man among you.
¹¹ My ^(KV)days are past; my plans are broken off,
    the desires of my heart.
¹² They ^(KW)make night into day:
    ‘The light,’ they say, ‘is near to the darkness.’^[w]
13 If I hope for ^(KX)Sheol as ^(KY)my house,
    if I make my bed in darkness,
¹⁴ if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,’
    and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’
¹⁵ where then is my hope?
    Who will see my hope?
¹⁶ Will it go down to the bars of ^(KZ)Sheol?
    Shall we ^(LA)descend together ^(LB)into the dust?”^[x]

² “How long will you ^(LD)hunt for words?
    Consider, and then we will speak.
³ Why are we counted as ^(LE)cattle?
    Why are we stupid in your sight?
⁴ You who ^(LF)tear yourself in your anger,
    shall the earth be forsaken for you,
    or ^(LG)the rock be removed out of its place?

⁵ “Indeed, ^(LH)the light of the wicked is put out,
    and the flame of his fire does not shine.
⁶ The light is ^(LI)dark in his tent,
    and his lamp above him is put out.
⁷ His strong steps are shortened,
    and his ^(LJ)own schemes throw him down.
⁸ For he is cast into a net by his own feet,
    and he walks on its mesh.
^9 (LK)A trap seizes him by the heel;
    a snare lays hold of him.
¹⁰ A rope is hidden for him in the ground,
    a trap for him in the path.
^11 (LL)Terrors frighten him on every side,
    and chase him at his heels.
¹² His strength is famished,
    and calamity is ^(LM)ready for his stumbling.
¹³ It consumes the parts of his skin;
    ^(LN)the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.
¹⁴ He is torn from the tent in which he trusted
    and is brought to ^(LO)the king of terrors.
¹⁵ In his tent dwells that which is none of his;
    ^(LP)sulfur is scattered over his habitation.
¹⁶ His ^(LQ)roots dry up beneath,
    and his branches ^(LR)wither above.
¹⁷ His ^(LS)memory perishes from the earth,
    and he has no name in the street.
^18 (LT)He is thrust from light into darkness,
    and driven out of the world.
¹⁹ He has no ^(LU)posterity or progeny among his people,
    and no survivor where he used to live.
²⁰ They of the west are appalled at his ^(LV)day,
    and ^(LW)horror seizes them of the east.
²¹ Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,
    such is the place of him who ^(LX)knows not God.”

² “How long will you torment me
    and break me in pieces with words?
³ These ^(LY)ten times you have cast reproach upon me;
    are you not ashamed to wrong me?
⁴ And even if it be true that I have erred,
    my error remains with myself.
⁵ If indeed you ^(LZ)magnify yourselves against me
    and make my disgrace an argument against me,
⁶ know then that God has ^(MA)put me in the wrong
    and closed his net about me.
⁷ Behold, I ^(MB)cry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered;
    I call for help, but there is no justice.
⁸ He has ^(MC)walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,
    and he has set darkness upon my paths.
⁹ He has ^(MD)stripped from me my glory
    and taken the ^(ME)crown from my head.
¹⁰ He breaks me down on every side, and I ^(MF)am gone,
    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.
¹¹ He has kindled his wrath against me
    and ^(MG)counts me as his adversary.
¹² His ^(MH)troops come on together;
    they have ^(MI)cast up their siege ramp^[y] against me
    and encamp around my tent.

¹³ “He has put my ^(MJ)brothers far from me,
    and ^(MK)those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.
¹⁴ My relatives ^(ML)have failed me,
    my close ^(MM)friends have forgotten me.
¹⁵ The guests ^(MN)in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;
    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.
¹⁶ I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;
    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.
¹⁷ My breath is strange to my ^(MO)wife,
    and I am a stench to the children of ^(MP)my own mother.
¹⁸ Even young ^(MQ)children despise me;
    when I rise they talk against me.
¹⁹ All my ^(MR)intimate friends abhor me,
    and those whom I loved have turned against me.
²⁰ My ^(MS)bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,
    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.
²¹ Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,
    for the hand of God has ^(MT)touched me!
²² Why do you, like God, ^(MU)pursue me?
    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?

²³ “Oh that my words were written!
    Oh that they were ^(MV)inscribed in a book!
²⁴ Oh that with an iron ^(MW)pen and lead
    they were engraved in the rock forever!
²⁵ For I ^(MX)know that my ^(MY)Redeemer lives,
    and at the last he will stand upon the ^(MZ)earth.^[z]
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
    yet in^[aa] my flesh I shall ^(NA)see God,
²⁷ whom I shall see for myself,
    and my eyes shall behold, and not ^(NB)another.
    My heart ^(NC)faints within me!
²⁸ If you say, ‘How we will ^(ND)pursue him!’
    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,’^[ab]
29 be afraid of the sword,
    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,
    that you may know there is ^(NE)a judgment.”

² “Therefore my ^(NG)thoughts answer me,
    because of my haste within me.
³ I hear censure that insults me,
    and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.
⁴ Do you not know this from of old,
    ^(NH)since man was placed on earth,
^5 (NI)that the exulting of the wicked is short,
    and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
^6 (NJ)Though his height mount up to the heavens,
    and his head reach to the clouds,
⁷ he will perish forever like his own ^(NK)dung;
    those who have seen him will say, ^(NL)‘Where is he?’
⁸ He will fly away like ^(NM)a dream and not be found;
    he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
^9 (NN)The eye that saw him will see him no more,
    nor will his place any more behold him.
¹⁰ His children will seek the favor of the poor,
    and his hands will ^(NO)give back his wealth.
¹¹ His bones are full of his ^(NP)youthful vigor,
    but it will lie ^(NQ)down with him in the dust.

¹² “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
    though he hides it ^(NR)under his tongue,
¹³ though he is loath to let it go
    and holds it in his mouth,
¹⁴ yet his food is turned in his stomach;
    it is the venom of ^(NS)cobras within him.
¹⁵ He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;
    God casts them out of his belly.
¹⁶ He will suck the poison of cobras;
    ^(NT)the tongue of a viper will kill him.
¹⁷ He will not look upon ^(NU)the rivers,
    the streams flowing with ^(NV)honey and ^(NW)curds.
¹⁸ He will ^(NX)give back the fruit of his toil
    and will not ^(NY)swallow it down;
from the profit of his trading
    he will get no enjoyment.
¹⁹ For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;
    he has seized a house that he did not build.

²⁰ “Because he ^(NZ)knew no ^(OA)contentment in his belly,
    ^(OB)he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.
²¹ There was nothing left after he had eaten;
    therefore his prosperity will not endure.
²² In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;
    the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.
²³ To fill his belly to the full,
    God^[ac] will send his burning anger against him
    and rain it upon him ^(OC)into his body.
^24 (OD)He will flee from an iron weapon;
    ^(OE)a bronze arrow will strike ^(OF)him through.
²⁵ It ^(OG)is drawn forth and comes out of his body;
    ^(OH)the glittering point comes out of his ^(OI)gallbladder;
    ^(OJ)terrors come upon him.
²⁶ Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;
    ^(OK)a fire not fanned will devour him;
    what is left in his tent will be consumed.
^27 (OL)The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
    and the earth will rise up against him.
²⁸ The possessions of his house will be carried away,
    dragged off in the day of God's^[ad] wrath.
^29 (OM)This is the wicked man's portion from God,
    ^(ON)the heritage decreed for him by God.”

^2 (OO)“Keep listening to my words,
    and let this be your comfort.
³ Bear with me, and I will speak,
    and after I have spoken, ^(OP)mock on.
⁴ As for me, is my ^(OQ)complaint against man?
    Why should I not be impatient?
⁵ Look at me and be appalled,
    and ^(OR)lay your hand over your mouth.
⁶ When I remember, I am dismayed,
    and shuddering seizes my flesh.
^7 (OS)Why do the wicked live,
    reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
⁸ Their ^(OT)offspring are established in their presence,
    and their descendants before their eyes.
⁹ Their houses are ^(OU)safe from fear,
    and ^(OV)no rod of God is upon them.
¹⁰ Their bull breeds without fail;
    their cow calves and ^(OW)does not miscarry.
¹¹ They send out their ^(OX)little boys like a flock,
    and their children dance.
¹² They sing to ^(OY)the tambourine and ^(OZ)the lyre
    and rejoice to the sound of ^(PA)the pipe.
¹³ They ^(PB)spend their days in prosperity,
    and in ^(PC)peace they go down to ^(PD)Sheol.
¹⁴ They say to God, ^(PE)‘Depart from us!
    We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.
^15 (PF)What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
    And what ^(PG)profit do we get if we pray to him?’
¹⁶ Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?
    ^(PH)The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁷ “How often is it that ^(PI)the lamp of the wicked is put out?
    That their calamity comes upon them?
    That God^[ae] distributes pains in his anger?
¹⁸ That they are like ^(PJ)straw before the wind,
    and like ^(PK)chaff that the storm carries away?
¹⁹ You say, ‘God ^(PL)stores up their iniquity for their ^(PM)children.’
    Let him pay it out to them, that they may ^(PN)know it.
²⁰ Let their own eyes see their destruction,
    and let them ^(PO)drink of the wrath of the Almighty.
²¹ For what do they care for their houses after them,
    when ^(PP)the number of their months is cut off?
^22 (PQ)Will any teach God knowledge,
    seeing that he ^(PR)judges those who are on high?
²³ One dies in his full vigor,
    being wholly at ease and secure,
²⁴ his pails^[af] full of milk
    and ^(PS)the marrow of his bones moist.
²⁵ Another dies in ^(PT)bitterness of soul,
    never having tasted of prosperity.
²⁶ They ^(PU)lie down alike in the dust,
    and ^(PV)the worms cover them.

²⁷ “Behold, I know your thoughts
    and your schemes to wrong me.
²⁸ For you say, ^(PW)‘Where is the house of the prince?
    Where is ^(PX)the tent in which the wicked lived?’
²⁹ Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
    and do you not accept their testimony
³⁰ that ^(PY)the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,
    that he is rescued in the day of wrath?
³¹ Who declares his way ^(PZ)to his face,
    and who ^(QA)repays him for what he has done?
³² When he is ^(QB)carried to the grave,
    watch is kept over his tomb.
^33 (QC)The clods of the valley are sweet to him;
    ^(QD)all mankind follows after him,
    and those who go before him are innumerable.
³⁴ How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
    There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”

^2 (QF)“Can a man be profitable to God?
    Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right,
    or is it gain to him if you ^(QG)make your ways blameless?
⁴ Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you
    and ^(QH)enters into judgment with you?
⁵ Is not your evil abundant?
    There is no end to your iniquities.
⁶ For you have ^(QI)exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing
    ^(QJ)and stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷ You have given no water to the weary to drink,
    and you have ^(QK)withheld bread from the hungry.
^8 (QL)The man with power possessed the land,
    and ^(QM)the favored man lived in it.
⁹ You have ^(QN)sent widows away empty,
    and ^(QO)the arms of ^(QP)the fatherless were crushed.
¹⁰ Therefore ^(QQ)snares are all around you,
    and sudden terror overwhelms you,
¹¹ or ^(QR)darkness, so that you cannot see,
    and a ^(QS)flood of ^(QT)water covers you.

¹² “Is not God high in the heavens?
    See ^(QU)the highest stars, how lofty they are!
¹³ But you say, ^(QV)‘What does God know?
    Can he judge through ^(QW)the deep darkness?
^14 (QX)Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see,
    and he walks on the vault of heaven.’
¹⁵ Will you keep to the old way
    that wicked men have trod?
¹⁶ They were snatched away ^(QY)before their time;
    their foundation was washed away.^[ag]
17 They said to God, ^(QZ)‘Depart from us,’
    and ^(RA)‘What can the Almighty do to us?’^[ah]
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
    but ^(RB)the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
^19 (RC)The righteous see it and are glad;
    the innocent one ^(RD)mocks at them,
²⁰ saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
    and what they left ^(RE)the fire has consumed.’

^21 (RF)“Agree with God, and ^(RG)be at peace;
    thereby good will come to you.
²² Receive instruction from ^(RH)his mouth,
    and ^(RI)lay up his words in your heart.
²³ If you ^(RJ)return to the Almighty you will be ^(RK)built up;
    if you ^(RL)remove injustice far from your tents,
²⁴ if you lay gold in ^(RM)the dust,
    and gold of ^(RN)Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
²⁵ then the Almighty will be your gold
    and your precious silver.
²⁶ For then you ^(RO)will delight yourself in the Almighty
    and ^(RP)lift up your face to God.
²⁷ You will ^(RQ)make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
    and you will ^(RR)pay your vows.
²⁸ You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
    and ^(RS)light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’;^[ai]
    but he saves ^(RT)the lowly.
³⁰ He ^(RU)delivers even the one who is not innocent,
    who will be delivered through ^(RV)the cleanness of your hands.”

² “Today also my ^(RW)complaint is bitter;^[aj]
    my ^(RX)hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
³ Oh, ^(RY)that I knew where I might find him,
    that I might come even to his ^(RZ)seat!
⁴ I would ^(SA)lay my case before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would know what he would answer me
    and understand what he would say to me.
⁶ Would he ^(SB)contend with me in the greatness of his power?
    No; he would pay attention to me.
⁷ There an upright man could argue with him,
    and I would be acquitted forever by my judge.

⁸ “Behold, ^(SC)I go forward, but he is not there,
    and backward, but I do not perceive him;
⁹ on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
    he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.
¹⁰ But he ^(SD)knows ^(SE)the way that I ^(SF)take;
    when he has ^(SG)tried me, I shall come out as gold.
¹¹ My foot ^(SH)has held fast to his steps;
    I have kept his way and have ^(SI)not turned aside.
¹² I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
    I have ^(SJ)treasured the words of his mouth more than my ^(SK)portion of food.
¹³ But he is unchangeable,^[ak] and ^(SL)who can turn him back?
    What he ^(SM)desires, that he does.
¹⁴ For he will complete what he ^(SN)appoints for me,
    and many such things are ^(SO)in his mind.
¹⁵ Therefore I am terrified at his presence;
    when I consider, I am in dread of him.
¹⁶ God has made my ^(SP)heart faint;
    the Almighty has terrified me;
¹⁷ yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,
    nor because thick darkness covers my face.

24 “Why are ^(SQ)not times of judgment ^(SR)kept by the Almighty,
    and why do those who know him never see his ^(SS)days?
² Some move ^(ST)landmarks;
    they seize flocks and pasture them.
³ They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;
    they ^(SU)take the widow's ox for a pledge.
⁴ They ^(SV)thrust the poor off the road;
    the poor of the earth ^(SW)all hide themselves.
⁵ Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert
    the poor^{[al] (SX)}go out to their toil, ^(SY)seeking game;
    the wasteland yields food for their children.
⁶ They gather their^[am] fodder in the field,
    and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.
⁷ They ^(SZ)lie all night naked, without clothing,
    and have no covering in the cold.
⁸ They are wet with the rain of the mountains
    and ^(TA)cling to the rock for lack of shelter.
⁹ (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,
    and they take a pledge against the poor.)
¹⁰ They go about naked, without clothing;
    hungry, they ^(TB)carry the sheaves;
¹¹ among the olive rows of the wicked^[an] they make oil;
    they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.
¹² From out of the city the dying^[ao] groan,
    and the soul of ^(TC)the wounded cries for help;
    yet God charges no one with ^(TD)wrong.

¹³ “There are those who rebel ^(TE)against the light,
    who are not acquainted with its ways,
    and do not stay in its paths.
¹⁴ The murderer rises before it is light,
    that he ^(TF)may kill the poor and needy,
    and in the night he is like a thief.
¹⁵ The eye of the adulterer also waits for ^(TG)the twilight,
    saying, ‘No ^(TH)eye will see me’;
    and he veils his face.
¹⁶ In the dark they ^(TI)dig through houses;
    by day they shut themselves up;
    they do not know the light.
¹⁷ For ^(TJ)deep darkness is morning to all of them;
    for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness.

¹⁸ “You say, ^(TK)‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;
    their portion is cursed in the land;
    no treader turns toward their vineyards.
¹⁹ Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;
    so does ^(TL)Sheol those who have sinned.
²⁰ The womb forgets them;
    the worm finds them sweet;
they are ^(TM)no longer remembered,
    so wickedness is broken like ^(TN)a tree.’

²¹ “They wrong the barren, childless woman,
    and do no good to the widow.
²² Yet God^[ap] prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;
    they rise up when they despair of life.
²³ He gives them security, and they are supported,
    and his ^(TO)eyes are upon their ways.
²⁴ They are exalted ^(TP)a little while, and then ^(TQ)are gone;
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;
    they are ^(TR)cut off like the heads of grain.
²⁵ If it is ^(TS)not so, who will prove me a liar
    and show that there is nothing in what I say?”