Chronological

10 I am sick of life!
And from my deep despair,
    I complain to you, my God.
² Don't just condemn me!
    Point out my sin.
³ Why do you take such delight
in destroying those you created
    and in smiling on sinners?
⁴ Do you look at things
    the way we humans do?
⁵ Is your life as short as ours?
⁶ Is that why you are so quick
    to find fault with me?
^7 (A) You know I am innocent,
but who can defend me
    against you?
⁸ Will you now destroy
    someone you created?
⁹ Remember that you molded me
    like a piece of clay.
So don't turn me back
    into dust once again.
^10 (B) As cheese is made from milk,
you created my body
    from a tiny drop.
¹¹ Then you tied my bones together
with muscles and covered them
    with flesh and skin.
¹² You, the source of my life,
showered me with kindness
    and watched over me.

¹³ You have not explained
    all of your mysteries,
¹⁴ but you catch and punish me
    each time I sin.
¹⁵ Guilty or innocent,
I am condemned and ashamed
    because of my troubles.
¹⁶ No matter how hard I try,
you keep hunting me down
    like a powerful lion.^[a]
17 You never stop accusing me;
you become furious and attack
    over and over again.

11 Zophar from Naamah^[c] said:
² So much foolish talk
    cannot go unanswered.
³ Your words have silenced others
    and made them ashamed;
now it is only right for you
    to be put to shame.
⁴ You claim to be innocent
and argue that your beliefs
    are acceptable to God.
⁵ But I wish God would speak
⁶ and let you know that wisdom
    has many different sides.
You would then discover
that God has punished you
    less than you deserve.

¹³ Surrender your heart to God,
    turn to him in prayer,
¹⁴ and give up your sins—
    even those you do in secret.
¹⁵ Then you won't be ashamed;
you will be confident
    and fearless.
¹⁶ Your troubles will go away
    like water beneath a bridge,
¹⁷ and your darkest night
    will be brighter than noon.
¹⁸ You will rest safe and secure,
filled with hope
    and emptied of worry.
¹⁹ You will sleep without fear
    and be greatly respected.
²⁰ But those who are evil
will go blind and lose their way.
    Their only escape is death!

* 12 ¹ Job said to his friends:
² You think you are so great,
    with all the answers.
³ But I know as much as you do,
    and so does everyone else.
⁴ I have always lived right,
and God answered my prayers;
    now friends make fun of me.
⁵ It's easy to condemn
those who are suffering,
    when you have no troubles.
⁶ Robbers and other godless people
live safely at home and say,
    “God is in our hands!”^[e]

⁷ If you want to learn,
    then go and ask
the wild animals and the birds,
⁸     the flowers and the fish.
⁹ Any of them can tell you
    what the Lord has done.^[f]
10 Every living creature
    is in the hands of God.

13 I know and understand
    every bit of this.
² None of you are smarter
    than I am;
there's nothing you know
    that I don't.
³ But I prefer to argue my case
    with God All-Powerful—
⁴ you are merely useless doctors,
    who treat me with lies.
⁵ The wisest thing you can do
is to keep quiet ⁶ and listen
    to my argument.
⁷ Are you telling lies for God
⁸ and not telling the whole truth
    when you argue his case?
⁹ If he took you to court,
could you fool him,
    just as you fool others?
¹⁰ If you were secretly unfair,
    he would correct you,
¹¹ and his glorious splendor
    would make you terrified.
¹² Your wisdom and arguments
    will blow away like dust.

¹³ Be quiet while I speak,
    and we'll see what happens.
¹⁴ I will be responsible
    for what happens to me.
¹⁵ God may kill me, but still
I will trust him^[g]
    and offer my defense.
¹⁶ This may be what saves me,
because no guilty person
    would come to his court.
¹⁷ Listen carefully to my words!
¹⁸ I have prepared my case well,
    and I am certain to win.
¹⁹ If you can prove me guilty,
    I will give up and die.

²⁰ I ask only two things
    of you, my God,
and I will no longer
    hide from you—
²¹ stop punishing
    and terrifying me!