And that God would be willing to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and kill me.


Then I would yet have my comfort, then I would rejoice, in spite of pitiless pain, for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.


What is my strength, that I should wait? and what is my end, that I should prolong my life?


Is my strength like that of stones? or is my flesh made of bronze?


Is not my power to help myself nothing, and has not every resource been driven from me?


“To the one in despair, kindness should come from his friend even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.


My brothers have been as treacherous as a seasonal stream, and as the riverbeds of the intermittent streams that flow away.


They are dark because of ice; snow is piled up over them.


When they are scorched, they dry up, when it is hot, they vanish from their place.


Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish.


The caravans of Tema looked intently for these streams; the traveling merchants of Sheba hoped for them.


They were distressed, because each one had been so confident; they arrived there, but were disappointed.


For now you have become like these streams that are no help; you see a terror, and are afraid.


“Have I ever said, ‘Give me something, and from your fortune make gifts in my favor’?


Or ‘Deliver me from the enemy’s power, and from the hand of tyrants ransom me’?


“Teach me and I, for my part, will be silent; explain to me how I have been mistaken.


How painful are honest words! But what does your reproof prove?


Do you intend to criticize mere words, and treat the words of a despairing man as wind?


Yes, you would gamble for the fatherless, and auction off your friend.


“Now then, be good enough to look at me; and I will not lie to your face!


Relent, let there be no falsehood; reconsider, for my righteousness is intact!


Is there any falsehood on my lips? Can my mouth not discern evil things?


“Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?


Like a servant longing for the evening shadow, and like a hired man looking for his wages,


thus I have been made to inherit months of futility, and nights of sorrow have been appointed to me.


If I lie down, I say, ‘When will I arise?’, and the night stretches on and I toss and turn restlessly until the day dawns.


My body is clothed with worms and dirty scabs; my skin is broken and festering.


My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle and they come to an end without hope.


Remember that my life is but a breath, that my eyes will never again see happiness.


The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more; your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.


As a cloud is dispersed and then disappears, so the one who goes down to the grave does not come up again.


He returns no more to his house, nor does his place of residence know him any more.


“Therefore, I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.


Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep, that you must put me under guard?


If I say, “My bed will comfort me, my couch will ease my complaint,”


then you scare me with dreams and terrify me with visions,


so that I would prefer strangling, and death more than life.


I loathe it; I do not want to live forever; leave me alone, for my days are a vapor!


“What is mankind that you make so much of them, and that you pay attention to them?


And that you visit them every morning, and try them every moment?


Will you never look away from me, will you not let me alone long enough to swallow my spittle?


If I have sinned – what have I done to you, O watcher of men? Why have you set me as your target? Have I become a burden to you?


And why do you not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now I will lie down in the dust, and you will seek me diligently, but I will be gone.”


Then Bildad the Shuhite spoke up and said:


“How long will you speak these things, seeing that the words of your mouth are like a great wind?


Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?


If your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.


But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to the Almighty,


if you become pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself for you, and will restore your righteous abode.


Your beginning will seem so small, since your future will flourish.


“For inquire now of the former generation, and pay attention to the findings of their ancestors;


For we were born yesterday and do not have knowledge, since our days on earth are but a shadow.


Will they not instruct you and speak to you, and bring forth words from their understanding?


Can the papyrus plant grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds flourish without water?


While they are still beginning to flower and not ripe for cutting, they can wither away faster than any grass!


Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hope of the godless perishes,


whose trust is in something futile, whose security is a spider’s web.


He leans against his house but it does not hold up, he takes hold of it but it does not stand.


He is a well-watered plant in the sun, its shoots spread over its garden.


It wraps its roots around a heap of stones and it looks for a place among stones.


If he is uprooted from his place, then that place will disown him, saying, ‘I have never seen you!’


Indeed, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth others spring up.


“Surely, God does not reject a blameless man, nor does he grasp the hand of the evildoers.


He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with gladness.


Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”


Then Job answered:


“Truly, I know that this is so. But how can a human be just before God?


If someone wishes to contend with him, he cannot answer him one time in a thousand.


He is wise in heart and mighty in strength – who has resisted him and remained safe?


He who removes mountains suddenly, who overturns them in his anger;


he who shakes the earth out of its place so that its pillars tremble;


he who commands the sun and it does not shine and seals up the stars;


he alone spreads out the heavens, and treads on the waves of the sea;


he makes the Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades, and the constellations of the southern sky;


he does great and unsearchable things, and wonderful things without number.


If he passes by me, I cannot see him, if he goes by, I cannot perceive him.


If he snatches away, who can turn him back? Who dares to say to him, ‘What are you doing?’


God does not restrain his anger; under him the helpers of Rahab lie crushed.


“How much less, then, can I answer him and choose my words to argue with him!


Although I am innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my judge for mercy.


If I summoned him, and he answered me, I would not believe that he would be listening to my voice –


he who crushes me with a tempest, and multiplies my wounds for no reason.


He does not allow me to recover my breath, for he fills me with bitterness.


If it is a matter of strength, most certainly he is the strong one! And if it is a matter of justice, he will say, ‘Who will summon me?’


Although I am innocent, my mouth would condemn me; although I am blameless, it would declare me perverse.


I am blameless. I do not know myself. I despise my life.


“It is all one! That is why I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’


If a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks at the despair of the innocent.


If a land has been given into the hand of a wicked man, he covers the faces of its judges; if it is not he, then who is it?


“My days are swifter than a runner, they speed by without seeing happiness.


They glide by like reed boats, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.


If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression and be cheerful,’


I dread all my sufferings, for I know that you do not hold me blameless.


If I am guilty, why then weary myself in vain?


If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands clean with lye,


then you plunge me into a slimy pit and my own clothes abhor me.


For he is not a human being like I am, that I might answer him, that we might come together in judgment.


Nor is there an arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both,


who would take his rod away from me so that his terror would not make me afraid.


Then would I speak and not fear him, but it is not so with me.


“I am weary of my life; I will complain without restraint; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.


I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me; tell me why you are contending with me.’


Is it good for you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked?


“Do you have eyes of flesh, or do you see as a human being sees?


Are your days like the days of a mortal, or your years like the years of a mortal,


that you must search out my iniquity, and inquire about my sin,


although you know that I am not guilty, and that there is no one who can deliver out of your hand?


“Your hands have shaped me and made me, but now you destroy me completely.


Remember that you have made me as with the clay; will you return me to dust?


Did you not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese?


You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews.


You gave me life and favor, and your intervention watched over my spirit.


“But these things you have concealed in your heart; I know that this is with you:


If I sinned, then you would watch me and you would not acquit me of my iniquity.


If I am guilty, woe to me, and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head; I am full of shame, and satiated with my affliction.


If I lift myself up, you hunt me as a fierce lion, and again you display your power against me.


You bring new witnesses against me, and increase your anger against me; relief troops come against me.


“Why then did you bring me out from the womb? I should have died and no eye would have seen me!


I should have been as though I had never existed; I should have been carried right from the womb to the grave!


Are not my days few? Cease, then, and leave me alone, that I may find a little comfort,


before I depart, never to return, to the land of darkness and the deepest shadow,


to the land of utter darkness, like the deepest darkness, and the deepest shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.”


Then Zophar the Naamathite spoke up and said:


“Should not this abundance of words be answered, or should this talkative man be vindicated?


Will your idle talk reduce people to silence, and will no one rebuke you when you mock?


For you have said, ‘My teaching is flawless, and I am pure in your sight.’


But if only God would speak, if only he would open his lips against you,


and reveal to you the secrets of wisdom – for true wisdom has two sides – so that you would know that God has forgiven some of your sins.


“Can you discover the essence of God? Can you find out the perfection of the Almighty?


It is higher than the heavens – what can you do? It is deeper than Sheol – what can you know?


Its measure is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.


If he comes by and confines you and convenes a court, then who can prevent him?


For he knows deceitful men; when he sees evil, will he not consider it?


But an empty man will become wise, when a wild donkey’s colt is born a human being.


“As for you, if you prove faithful, and if you stretch out your hands toward him,


if iniquity is in your hand – put it far away, and do not let evil reside in your tents.


For then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be securely established and will not fear.


For you will forget your trouble; you will remember it like water that has flowed away.


And life will be brighter than the noonday; though there be darkness, it will be like the morning.


And you will be secure, because there is hope; you will be protected and will take your rest in safety.


You will lie down with no one to make you afraid, and many will seek your favor.


But the eyes of the wicked fail, and escape eludes them; their one hope is to breathe their last.”


Then Job answered:


“Without a doubt you are the people, and wisdom will die with you.


I also have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know such things as these?


I am a laughingstock to my friends, I, who called on God and whom he answered – a righteous and blameless man is a laughingstock!


For calamity, there is derision (according to the ideas of the fortunate ) – a fate for those whose feet slip!


But the tents of robbers are peaceful, and those who provoke God are confident – who carry their god in their hands.


“But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.


Or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea declare to you.


Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this,


in whose hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all the human race.


Does not the ear test words, as the tongue tastes food?


Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?


“With God are wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his.


If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt; if he imprisons a person, there is no escape.


If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; if he releases them, they destroy the land.


With him are strength and prudence; both the one who goes astray and the one who misleads are his.


He leads counselors away stripped and makes judges into fools.


He loosens the bonds of kings and binds a loincloth around their waist.


He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the potentates.


He deprives the trusted advisers of speech and takes away the discernment of elders.


He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful.


He reveals the deep things of darkness, and brings deep shadows into the light.


He makes nations great, and destroys them; he extends the boundaries of nations and disperses them.


He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste.


They grope about in darkness without light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.


“Indeed, my eyes have seen all this, my ears have heard and understood it.


What you know, I know also; I am not inferior to you!


But I wish to speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God.


But you, however, are inventors of lies; all of you are worthless physicians!


If only you would keep completely silent! For you, that would be wisdom.


“Listen now to my argument, and be attentive to my lips’ contentions.


Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him?


Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God?


Would it turn out well if he would examine you? Or as one deceives a man would you deceive him?


He would certainly rebuke you if you secretly showed partiality!


Would not his splendor terrify you and the fear he inspires fall on you?


Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.


“Refrain from talking with me so that I may speak; then let come to me what may.


Why do I put myself in peril, and take my life in my hands?


Even if he slays me, I will hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face!


Moreover, this will become my deliverance, for no godless person would come before him.


Listen carefully to my words; let your ears be attentive to my explanation.


See now, I have prepared my case; I know that I am right.


Who will contend with me? If anyone can, I will be silent and die.


Only in two things spare me, O God, and then I will not hide from your face:


Remove your hand far from me and stop making me afraid with your terror.


Then call, and I will answer, or I will speak, and you respond to me.


How many are my iniquities and sins? Show me my transgression and my sin.


Why do you hide your face and regard me as your enemy?


Do you wish to torment a windblown leaf and chase after dry chaff?


For you write down bitter things against me and cause me to inherit the sins of my youth.


And you put my feet in the stocks and you watch all my movements; you put marks on the soles of my feet.


So I waste away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.


“Man, born of woman, lives but a few days, and they are full of trouble.


He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.


Do you fix your eye on such a one? And do you bring me before you for judgment?


Who can make a clean thing come from an unclean? No one!


Since man’s days are determined, the number of his months is under your control; you have set his limit and he cannot pass it.


Look away from him and let him desist, until he fulfills his time like a hired man.


“But there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.


Although its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump begins to die in the soil,


at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth shoots like a new plant.


But man dies and is powerless; he expires – and where is he?


As water disappears from the sea, or a river drains away and dries up,


so man lies down and does not rise; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake nor arise from their sleep.


“O that you would hide me in Sheol, and conceal me till your anger has passed! O that you would set me a time and then remember me!


If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait until my release comes.


You will call and I – I will answer you; you will long for the creature you have made.


“Surely now you count my steps; then you would not mark my sin.


My offenses would be sealed up in a bag; you would cover over my sin.


But as a mountain falls away and crumbles, and as a rock will be removed from its place,


as water wears away stones, and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy man’s hope.


You overpower him once for all, and he departs; you change his appearance and send him away.


If his sons are honored, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he does not see it.


Only his flesh has pain for himself, and he mourns for himself.”


Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:


“Does a wise man answer with blustery knowledge, or fill his belly with the east wind?


Does he argue with useless talk, with words that have no value in them?


But you even break off piety, and hinder meditation before God.


Your sin inspires your mouth; you choose the language of the crafty.


Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips testify against you.


“Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?


Do you listen in on God’s secret council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?


What do you know that we don’t know? What do you understand that we don’t understand?


The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men far older than your father.


Are God’s consolations too trivial for you; or a word spoken in gentleness to you?


Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,


when you turn your rage against God and allow such words to escape from your mouth?


What is man that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?


If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,


how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt, who drinks in evil like water!


“I will explain to you; listen to me, and what I have seen, I will declare,


what wise men declare, hiding nothing, from the tradition of their ancestors,


to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them.


All his days the wicked man suffers torment, throughout the number of the years that are stored up for the tyrant.


Terrifying sounds fill his ears; in a time of peace marauders attack him.


He does not expect to escape from darkness; he is marked for the sword;


he wanders about – food for vultures; he knows that the day of darkness is at hand.


Distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him like a king ready to launch an attack,


for he stretches out his hand against God, and vaunts himself against the Almighty,


defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield!


Because he covered his face with fat, and made his hips bulge with fat,


he lived in ruined towns and in houses where no one lives, where they are ready to crumble into heaps.


He will not grow rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.


He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots and he will depart by the breath of God’s mouth.


Let him not trust in what is worthless, deceiving himself; for worthlessness will be his reward.


Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish.


Like a vine he will let his sour grapes fall, and like an olive tree he will shed his blossoms.


For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.


They conceive trouble and bring forth evil; their belly prepares deception.”


Then Job replied:


“I have heard many things like these before. What miserable comforters are you all!


Will there be an end to your windy words? Or what provokes you that you answer?


I also could speak like you, if you were in my place; I could pile up words against you and I could shake my head at you.


But I would strengthen you with my words; comfort from my lips would bring you relief.


“But if I speak, my pain is not relieved, and if I refrain from speaking – how much of it goes away?


Surely now he has worn me out, you have devastated my entire household.


You have seized me, and it has become a witness; my leanness has risen up against me and testifies against me.


His anger has torn me and persecuted me; he has gnashed at me with his teeth; my adversary locks his eyes on me.


People have opened their mouths against me, they have struck my cheek in scorn; they unite together against me.


God abandons me to evil men, and throws me into the hands of wicked men.


I was in peace, and he has shattered me. He has seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has made me his target;


his archers surround me. Without pity he pierces my kidneys and pours out my gall on the ground.


He breaks through against me, time and time again; he rushes against me like a warrior.


I have sewed sackcloth on my skin, and buried my horn in the dust;


my face is reddened because of weeping, and on my eyelids there is a deep darkness,


although there is no violence in my hands and my prayer is pure.


“O earth, do not cover my blood, nor let there be a secret place for my cry.


Even now my witness is in heaven; my advocate is on high.


My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God;


and he contends with God on behalf of man as a man pleads for his friend.


For the years that lie ahead are few, and then I will go on the way of no return.


My spirit is broken, my days have faded out, the grave awaits me.


Surely mockery is with me; my eyes must dwell on their hostility.


Make then my pledge with you. Who else will put up security for me?


Because you have closed their minds to understanding, therefore you will not exalt them.


If a man denounces his friends for personal gain, the eyes of his children will fail.


He has made me a byword to people, I am the one in whose face they spit.


My eyes have grown dim with grief; my whole frame is but a shadow.


Upright men are appalled at this; the innocent man is troubled with the godless.


But the righteous man holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.


“But turn, all of you, and come now! I will not find a wise man among you.


My days have passed, my plans are shattered, even the desires of my heart.


These men change night into day; they say, ‘The light is near in the face of darkness.’


If I hope for the grave to be my home, if I spread out my bed in darkness,


If I cry to corruption, ‘You are my father,’ and to the worm, ‘My Mother,’ or ‘My sister,’


where then is my hope? And my hope, who sees it?


Will it go down to the barred gates of death? Will we descend together into the dust?”


Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:


“How long until you make an end of words? You must consider, and then we can talk.


Why should we be regarded as beasts, and considered stupid in your sight?


You who tear yourself to pieces in your anger, will the earth be abandoned for your sake? Or will a rock be moved from its place?


“Yes, the lamp of the wicked is extinguished; his flame of fire does not shine.


The light in his tent grows dark; his lamp above him is extinguished.


His vigorous steps are restricted, and his own counsel throws him down.


For he has been thrown into a net by his feet and he wanders into a mesh.


A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare grips him.


A rope is hidden for him on the ground and a trap for him lies on the path.


Terrors frighten him on all sides and dog his every step.


Calamity is hungry for him, and misfortune is ready at his side.


It eats away parts of his skin; the most terrible death devours his limbs.


He is dragged from the security of his tent, and marched off to the king of terrors.


Fire resides in his tent; over his residence burning sulfur is scattered.


Below his roots dry up, and his branches wither above.


His memory perishes from the earth, he has no name in the land.


He is driven from light into darkness and is banished from the world.


He has neither children nor descendants among his people, no survivor in those places he once stayed.


People of the west are appalled at his fate; people of the east are seized with horror, saying,


‘Surely such is the residence of an evil man; and this is the place of one who has not known God.’”


Then Job answered:


“How long will you torment me and crush me with your words?


These ten times you have been reproaching me; you are not ashamed to attack me!


But even if it were true that I have erred, my error remains solely my concern!


If indeed you would exalt yourselves above me and plead my disgrace against me,


know then that God has wronged me and encircled me with his net.


“If I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I receive no answer; I cry for help, but there is no justice.


He has blocked my way so I cannot pass, and has set darkness over my paths.


He has stripped me of my honor and has taken the crown off my head.


He tears me down on every side until I perish; he uproots my hope like one uproots a tree.


Thus his anger burns against me, and he considers me among his enemies.


His troops advance together; they throw up a siege ramp against me, and they camp around my tent.


“He has put my relatives far from me; my acquaintances only turn away from me.


My kinsmen have failed me; my friends have forgotten me.


My guests and my servant girls consider me a stranger; I am a foreigner in their eyes.


I summon my servant, but he does not respond, even though I implore him with my own mouth.


My breath is repulsive to my wife; I am loathsome to my brothers.


Even youngsters have scorned me; when I get up, they scoff at me.


All my closest friends detest me; and those whom I love have turned against me.


My bones stick to my skin and my flesh; I have escaped alive with only the skin of my teeth.


Have pity on me, my friends, have pity on me, for the hand of God has struck me.


Why do you pursue me like God does? Will you never be satiated with my flesh?


“O that my words were written down, O that they were written on a scroll,


that with an iron chisel and with lead they were engraved in a rock forever!


As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and that as the last he will stand upon the earth.


And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God,


whom I will see for myself, and whom my own eyes will behold, and not another. My heart grows faint within me.


If you say, ‘How we will pursue him, since the root of the trouble is found in him!’


Fear the sword yourselves, for wrath brings the punishment by the sword, so that you may know that there is judgment.”


Then Zophar the Naamathite answered:


“This is why my troubled thoughts bring me back – because of my feelings within me.


When I hear a reproof that dishonors me, then my understanding prompts me to answer.


“Surely you know that it has been from old, ever since humankind was placed on the earth,


that the elation of the wicked is brief, the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.


Even though his stature reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds,


he will perish forever, like his own excrement; those who used to see him will say, ‘Where is he?’


Like a dream he flies away, never again to be found, and like a vision of the night he is put to flight.


People who had seen him will not see him again, and the place where he was will recognize him no longer.


His sons must recompense the poor; his own hands must return his wealth.


His bones were full of his youthful vigor, but that vigor will lie down with him in the dust.


“If evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,


if he retains it for himself and does not let it go, and holds it fast in his mouth,


his food is turned sour in his stomach; it becomes the venom of serpents within him.


The wealth that he consumed he vomits up, God will make him throw it out of his stomach.


He sucks the poison of serpents; the fangs of a viper kill him.


He will not look on the streams, the rivers, which are the torrents of honey and butter.


He gives back the ill-gotten gain without assimilating it; he will not enjoy the wealth from his commerce.


For he has oppressed the poor and abandoned them; he has seized a house which he did not build.


For he knows no satisfaction in his appetite; he does not let anything he desires escape.


“Nothing is left for him to devour; that is why his prosperity does not last.


In the fullness of his sufficiency, distress overtakes him. the full force of misery will come upon him.


“While he is filling his belly, God sends his burning anger against him, and rains down his blows upon him.


If he flees from an iron weapon, then an arrow from a bronze bow pierces him.


When he pulls it out and it comes out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver, terrors come over him.


Total darkness waits to receive his treasures; a fire which has not been kindled will consume him and devour what is left in his tent.


The heavens reveal his iniquity; the earth rises up against him.


A flood will carry off his house, rushing waters on the day of God’s wrath.


Such is the lot God allots the wicked, and the heritage of his appointment from God.”


Then Job answered:


“Listen carefully to my words; let this be the consolation you offer me.


Bear with me and I will speak, and after I have spoken you may mock.


Is my complaint against a man? If so, why should I not be impatient?


Look at me and be appalled; put your hands over your mouths.


For, when I think about this, I am terrified and my body feels a shudder.


“Why do the wicked go on living, grow old, even increase in power?


Their children are firmly established in their presence, their offspring before their eyes.


Their houses are safe and without fear; and no rod of punishment from God is upon them.


Their bulls breed without fail; their cows calve and do not miscarry.


They allow their children to run like a flock; their little ones dance about.


They sing to the accompaniment of tambourine and harp, and make merry to the sound of the flute.


They live out their years in prosperity and go down to the grave in peace.


So they say to God, ‘Turn away from us! We do not want to know your ways.


Who is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What would we gain if we were to pray to him?’


But their prosperity is not their own doing. The counsel of the wicked is far from me!


“How often is the lamp of the wicked extinguished? How often does their misfortune come upon them? How often does God apportion pain to them in his anger?


How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff swept away by a whirlwind?


You may say, ‘God stores up a man’s punishment for his children!’ Instead let him repay the man himself so that he may know it!


Let his own eyes see his destruction; let him drink of the anger of the Almighty.


For what is his interest in his home after his death, when the number of his months has been broken off?


Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges those that are on high?


“One man dies in his full vigor, completely secure and prosperous,


his body well nourished, and the marrow of his bones moist.


And another man dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted anything good.


Together they lie down in the dust, and worms cover over them both.


“Yes, I know what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me.


For you say, ‘Where now is the nobleman’s house, and where are the tents in which the wicked lived?’


Have you never questioned those who travel the roads? Do you not recognize their accounts –


that the evil man is spared from the day of his misfortune, that he is delivered from the day of God’s wrath?


No one denounces his conduct to his face; no one repays him for what he has done.


And when he is carried to the tombs, and watch is kept over the funeral mound,


The clods of the torrent valley are sweet to him; behind him everybody follows in procession, and before him goes a countless throng.


So how can you console me with your futile words? Nothing is left of your answers but deception!”


Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:


“Is it to God that a strong man is of benefit? Is it to him that even a wise man is profitable?


Is it of any special benefit to the Almighty that you should be righteous, or is it any gain to him that you make your ways blameless?


Is it because of your piety that he rebukes you and goes to judgment with you?


Is not your wickedness great and is there no end to your iniquity?


“For you took pledges from your brothers for no reason, and you stripped the clothing from the naked.


You gave the weary no water to drink and from the hungry you withheld food.


Although you were a powerful man, owning land, an honored man living on it,


you sent widows away empty-handed, and the arms of the orphans you crushed.


That is why snares surround you, and why sudden fear terrifies you,


why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you.


“Is not God on high in heaven? And see the lofty stars, how high they are!


But you have said, ‘What does God know? Does he judge through such deep darkness?


Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us, as he goes back and forth in the vault of heaven.’


Will you keep to the old path that evil men have walked –


men who were carried off before their time, when the flood was poured out on their foundations?


They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’ and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’


But it was he who filled their houses with good things – yet the counsel of the wicked was far from me.


The righteous see their destruction and rejoice; the innocent mock them scornfully, saying,


‘Surely our enemies are destroyed, and fire consumes their wealth.’


“Reconcile yourself with God, and be at peace with him; in this way your prosperity will be good.


Accept instruction from his mouth and store up his words in your heart.


If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,


and throw your gold in the dust – your gold of Ophir among the rocks in the ravines –


then the Almighty himself will be your gold, and the choicest silver for you.


Surely then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face toward God.


You will pray to him and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him.


Whatever you decide on a matter, it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways.


When people are brought low and you say ‘Lift them up!’ then he will save the downcast;


he will deliver even someone who is not innocent, who will escape through the cleanness of your hands.”


Then Job answered:


“Even today my complaint is still bitter; his hand is heavy despite my groaning.


O that I knew where I might find him, that I could come to his place of residence!


I would lay out my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.


I would know with what words he would answer me, and understand what he would say to me.


Would he contend with me with great power? No, he would only pay attention to me.


There an upright person could present his case before him, and I would be delivered forever from my judge.


“If I go to the east, he is not there, and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.


In the north when he is at work, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I see no trace of him.


But he knows the pathway that I take; if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.


My feet have followed his steps closely; I have kept to his way and have not turned aside.


I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion.


But he is unchangeable, and who can change him? Whatever he has desired, he does.


For he fulfills his decree against me, and many such things are his plans.


That is why I am terrified in his presence; when I consider, I am afraid because of him.


Indeed, God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me.


Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness, because of the thick darkness that covered my face.


“Why are times not appointed by the Almighty? Why do those who know him not see his days?


Men move boundary stones; they seize the flock and pasture them.


They drive away the orphan’s donkey; they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.


They turn the needy from the pathway, and the poor of the land hide themselves together.


Like wild donkeys in the desert they go out to their labor, seeking diligently for food; the wasteland provides food for them and for their children.


They reap fodder in the field, and glean in the vineyard of the wicked.


They spend the night naked because they lack clothing; they have no covering against the cold.


They are soaked by mountain rains and huddle in the rocks because they lack shelter.


The fatherless child is snatched from the breast, the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge.


They go about naked, without clothing, and go hungry while they carry the sheaves.


They press out the olive oil between the rows of olive trees; they tread the winepresses while they are thirsty.


From the city the dying groan, and the wounded cry out for help, but God charges no one with wrongdoing.


There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways and they do not stay on its paths.


Before daybreak the murderer rises up; he kills the poor and the needy; in the night he is like a thief.


And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight, thinking, ‘No eye can see me,’ and covers his face with a mask.


In the dark the robber breaks into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they do not know the light.


For all of them, the morning is to them like deep darkness; they are friends with the terrors of darkness.


“You say, ‘He is foam on the face of the waters; their portion of the land is cursed so that no one goes to their vineyard.


The drought as well as the heat carry away the melted snow; so the grave takes away those who have sinned.


The womb forgets him, the worm feasts on him, no longer will he be remembered. Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.


He preys on the barren and childless woman, and does not treat the widow well.


But God drags off the mighty by his power; when God rises up against him, he has no faith in his life.


God may let them rest in a feeling of security, but he is constantly watching all their ways.


They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone, they are brought low like all others, and gathered in, and like a head of grain they are cut off.’


“If this is not so, who can prove me a liar and reduce my words to nothing?”


Then Bildad the Shuhite answered:


“Dominion and awesome might belong to God; he establishes peace in his heights.


Can his armies be numbered? On whom does his light not rise?


How then can a human being be righteous before God? How can one born of a woman be pure?


If even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure as far as he is concerned,


how much less a mortal man, who is but a maggot – a son of man, who is only a worm!”


Then Job replied:


“How you have helped the powerless! How you have saved the person who has no strength!


How you have advised the one without wisdom, and abundantly revealed your insight!


To whom did you utter these words? And whose spirit has come forth from your mouth?


“The dead tremble – those beneath the waters and all that live in them.


The underworld is naked before God; the place of destruction lies uncovered.


He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth on nothing.


He locks the waters in his clouds, and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them.


He conceals the face of the full moon, shrouding it with his clouds.


He marks out the horizon on the surface of the waters as a boundary between light and darkness.


The pillars of the heavens tremble and are amazed at his rebuke.


By his power he stills the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab the great sea monster to pieces.


By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.


Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?”


And Job took up his discourse again:


“As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter –


for while my spirit is still in me, and the breath from God is in my nostrils,


my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will whisper no deceit.


I will never declare that you three are in the right; until I die, I will not set aside my integrity!


I will maintain my righteousness and never let it go; my conscience will not reproach me for as long as I live.


“May my enemy be like the wicked, my adversary like the unrighteous.


For what hope does the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?


Does God listen to his cry when distress overtakes him?


Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call out to God at all times?


I will teach you about the power of God; What is on the Almighty’s mind I will not conceal.


If you yourselves have all seen this, Why in the world do you continue this meaningless talk?


This is the portion of the wicked man allotted by God, the inheritance that evildoers receive from the Almighty.


If his children increase – it is for the sword! His offspring never have enough to eat.


Those who survive him are buried by the plague, and their widows do not mourn for them.


If he piles up silver like dust and stores up clothing like mounds of clay,


what he stores up a righteous man will wear, and an innocent man will inherit his silver.


The house he builds is as fragile as a moth’s cocoon, like a hut that a watchman has made.


He goes to bed wealthy, but will do so no more. When he opens his eyes, it is all gone.


Terrors overwhelm him like a flood; at night a whirlwind carries him off.


The east wind carries him away, and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place.


It hurls itself against him without pity as he flees headlong from its power.


It claps its hands at him in derision and hisses him away from his place.


“Surely there is a mine for silver, and a place where gold is refined.


Iron is taken from the ground, and rock is poured out as copper.


Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for the ore in the deepest darkness.


Far from where people live he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten, far from other people he dangles and sways.


The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire;


a place whose stones are sapphires and which contains dust of gold;


a hidden path no bird of prey knows – no falcon’s eye has spotted it.


Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it.


On the flinty rock man has set to work with his hand; he has overturned mountains at their bases.


He has cut out channels through the rocks; his eyes have spotted every precious thing.


He has searched the sources of the rivers and what was hidden he has brought into the light.


“But wisdom – where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding?


Mankind does not know its place; it cannot be found in the land of the living.


The deep says, ‘It is not with me.’ And the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’


Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.


It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires.


Neither gold nor crystal can be compared with it, nor can a vase of gold match its worth.


Of coral and jasper no mention will be made; the price of wisdom is more than pearls.


The topaz of Cush cannot be compared with it; it cannot be purchased with pure gold.


“But wisdom – where does it come from? Where is the place of understanding?


For it has been hidden from the eyes of every living creature, and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed.


Destruction and Death say, ‘With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.’


God understands the way to it, and he alone knows its place.


For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens.


When he made the force of the wind and measured the waters with a gauge.


When he imposed a limit for the rain, and a path for the thunderstorm,


then he looked at wisdom and assessed its value; he established it and examined it closely.


And he said to mankind, ‘The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”


Then Job continued his speech:


“O that I could be as I was in the months now gone, in the days when God watched over me,


when he caused his lamp to shine upon my head, and by his light I walked through darkness;


just as I was in my most productive time, when God’s intimate friendship was experienced in my tent,


when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me;


when my steps were bathed with butter and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil!


When I went out to the city gate and secured my seat in the public square,


the young men would see me and step aside, and the old men would get up and remain standing;


the chief men refrained from talking and covered their mouths with their hands;


the voices of the nobles fell silent, and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.


“As soon as the ear heard these things, it blessed me, and when the eye saw them, it bore witness to me,


for I rescued the poor who cried out for help, and the orphan who had no one to assist him;


the blessing of the dying man descended on me, and I made the widow’s heart rejoice;


I put on righteousness and it clothed me, my just dealing was like a robe and a turban;


I was eyes for the blind and feet for the lame;


I was a father to the needy, and I investigated the case of the person I did not know;


I broke the fangs of the wicked, and made him drop his prey from his teeth.


“Then I thought, ‘I will die in my own home, my days as numerous as the grains of sand.


My roots reach the water, and the dew lies on my branches all night long.


My glory will always be fresh in me, and my bow ever new in my hand.’


“People listened to me and waited silently; they kept silent for my advice.


After I had spoken, they did not respond; my words fell on them drop by drop.


They waited for me as people wait for the rain, and they opened their mouths as for the spring rains.


If I smiled at them, they hardly believed it; and they did not cause the light of my face to darken.


I chose the way for them and sat as their chief; I lived like a king among his troops; I was like one who comforts mourners.


“But now they mock me, those who are younger than I, whose fathers I disdained too much to put with my sheep dogs.


Moreover, the strength of their hands – what use was it to me? Men whose strength had perished;


gaunt with want and hunger, they would gnaw the parched land, in former time desolate and waste.


By the brush they would gather herbs from the salt marshes, and the root of the broom tree was their food.


They were banished from the community – people shouted at them like they would shout at thieves –


so that they had to live in the dry stream beds, in the holes of the ground, and among the rocks.


They brayed like animals among the bushes and were huddled together under the nettles.


Sons of senseless and nameless people, they were driven out of the land with whips.


“And now I have become their taunt song; I have become a byword among them.


They detest me and maintain their distance; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.


Because God has untied my tent cord and afflicted me, people throw off all restraint in my presence.


On my right the young rabble rise up; they drive me from place to place, and build up siege ramps against me.


They destroy my path; they succeed in destroying me without anyone assisting them.


They come in as through a wide breach; amid the crash they come rolling in.


Terrors are turned loose on me; they drive away my honor like the wind, and like a cloud my deliverance has passed away.


“And now my soul pours itself out within me; days of suffering take hold of me.


Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never cease.


With great power God grasps my clothing; he binds me like the collar of my tunic.


He has flung me into the mud, and I have come to resemble dust and ashes.


I cry out to you, but you do not answer me; I stand up, and you only look at me.


You have become cruel to me; with the strength of your hand you attack me.


You pick me up on the wind and make me ride on it; you toss me about in the storm.


I know that you are bringing me to death, to the meeting place for all the living.


“Surely one does not stretch out his hand against a broken man when he cries for help in his distress.


Have I not wept for the unfortunate? Was not my soul grieved for the poor?


But when I hoped for good, trouble came; when I expected light, then darkness came.


My heart is in turmoil unceasingly; the days of my affliction confront me.


I go about blackened, but not by the sun; in the assembly I stand up and cry for help.


I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.


My skin has turned dark on me; my body is hot with fever.


My harp is used for mourning and my flute for the sound of weeping.


“I made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I entertain thoughts against a virgin?


What then would be one’s lot from God above, one’s heritage from the Almighty on high?


Is it not misfortune for the unjust, and disaster for those who work iniquity?


Does he not see my ways and count all my steps?


If I have walked in falsehood, and if my foot has hastened to deceit –


let him weigh me with honest scales; then God will discover my integrity.


If my footsteps have strayed from the way, if my heart has gone after my eyes, or if anything has defiled my hands,


then let me sow and let another eat, and let my crops be uprooted.


If my heart has been enticed by a woman, and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,


then let my wife turn the millstone for another man, and may other men have sexual relations with her.


For I would have committed a shameful act, an iniquity to be judged.


For it is a fire that devours even to Destruction, and it would uproot all my harvest.


“If I have disregarded the right of my male servants or my female servants when they disputed with me,


then what will I do when God confronts me in judgment; when he intervenes, how will I respond to him?


Did not the one who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us in the womb?


If I have refused to give the poor what they desired, or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,


If I ate my morsel of bread myself, and did not share any of it with orphans –


but from my youth I raised the orphan like a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow!


If I have seen anyone about to perish for lack of clothing, or a poor man without a coat,


whose heart did not bless me as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,


if I have raised my hand to vote against the orphan, when I saw my support in the court,


then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let my arm be broken off at the socket.


For the calamity from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his majesty I was powerless.


“If I have put my confidence in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security!’


if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth, or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,


if I looked at the sun when it was shining, and the moon advancing as a precious thing,


so that my heart was secretly enticed, and my hand threw them a kiss from my mouth,


then this also would be iniquity to be judged, for I would have been false to God above.


If I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy or exulted because calamity found him –


I have not even permitted my mouth to sin by asking for his life through a curse –


if the members of my household have never said, ‘If only there were someone who has not been satisfied from Job’s meat!’ –


But no stranger had to spend the night outside, for I opened my doors to the traveler –


if I have covered my transgressions as men do, by hiding iniquity in my heart,


because I was terrified of the great multitude, and the contempt of families terrified me, so that I remained silent and would not go outdoors –


“If only I had someone to hear me! Here is my signature – let the Almighty answer me! If only I had an indictment that my accuser had written.


Surely I would wear it proudly on my shoulder, I would bind it on me like a crown;


I would give him an accounting of my steps; like a prince I would approach him.


“If my land cried out against me and all its furrows wept together,


if I have eaten its produce without paying, or caused the death of its owners,


then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat, and in place of barley, weeds!” The words of Job are ended.


So these three men refused to answer Job further, because he was righteous in his own eyes.


Then Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, became very angry. He was angry with Job for justifying himself rather than God.


With Job’s three friends he was also angry, because they could not find an answer, and so declared Job guilty.


Now Elihu had waited before speaking to Job, because the others were older than he was.


But when Elihu saw that the three men had no further reply, he became very angry.


So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up: “I am young, but you are elderly; that is why I was fearful, and afraid to explain to you what I know.


I said to myself, ‘Age should speak, and length of years should make wisdom known.’


But it is a spirit in people, the breath of the Almighty, that makes them understand.


It is not the aged who are wise, nor old men who understand what is right.


Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me. I, even I, will explain what I know.’


Look, I waited for you to speak; I listened closely to your wise thoughts, while you were searching for words.


Now I was paying you close attention, yet there was no one proving Job wrong, not one of you was answering his statements!


So do not say, ‘We have found wisdom! God will refute him, not man!’


Job has not directed his words to me, and so I will not reply to him with your arguments.


“They are dismayed and cannot answer any more; they have nothing left to say.


And I have waited. But because they do not speak, because they stand there and answer no more,


I too will answer my part, I too will explain what I know.


For I am full of words, and the spirit within me constrains me.


Inside I am like wine which has no outlet, like new wineskins ready to burst!


I will speak, so that I may find relief; I will open my lips, so that I may answer.


I will not show partiality to anyone, nor will I confer a title on any man.


for I do not know how to give honorary titles, if I did, my Creator would quickly do away with me.


“But now, O Job, listen to my words, and hear everything I have to say!


See now, I have opened my mouth; my tongue in my mouth has spoken.


My words come from the uprightness of my heart, and my lips will utter knowledge sincerely.


The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.


Reply to me, if you can; set your arguments in order before me and take your stand!


Look, I am just like you in relation to God; I too have been molded from clay.


Therefore no fear of me should terrify you, nor should my pressure be heavy on you.


“Indeed, you have said in my hearing (I heard the sound of the words!):


‘I am pure, without transgression; I am clean and have no iniquity.


Yet God finds occasions with me; he regards me as his enemy!


He puts my feet in shackles; he watches closely all my paths.’


Now in this, you are not right – I answer you, for God is greater than a human being.


Why do you contend against him, that he does not answer all a person’s words?


“For God speaks, the first time in one way, the second time in another, though a person does not perceive it.


In a dream, a night vision, when deep sleep falls on people as they sleep in their beds.


Then he gives a revelation to people, and terrifies them with warnings,


to turn a person from his sin, and to cover a person’s pride.


He spares a person’s life from corruption, his very life from crossing over the river.


Or a person is chastened by pain on his bed, and with the continual strife of his bones,


so that his life loathes food, and his soul rejects appetizing fare.


His flesh wastes away from sight, and his bones, which were not seen, are easily visible.


He draws near to the place of corruption, and his life to the messengers of death.


If there is an angel beside him, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness;


and if God is gracious to him and says, ‘Spare him from going down to the place of corruption, I have found a ransom for him,’


then his flesh is restored like a youth’s; he returns to the days of his youthful vigor.


He entreats God, and God delights in him, he sees God’s face with rejoicing, and God restores to him his righteousness.


That person sings to others, saying: ‘I have sinned and falsified what is right, but I was not punished according to what I deserved.


He redeemed my life from going down to the place of corruption, and my life sees the light!’


“Indeed, God does all these things, twice, three times, in his dealings with a person,


to turn back his life from the place of corruption, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.


Pay attention, Job – listen to me; be silent, and I will speak.


If you have any words, reply to me; speak, for I want to justify you.


If not, you listen to me; be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.”


Elihu answered:


“Listen to my words, you wise men; hear me, you learned men.


For the ear assesses words as the mouth tastes food.


Let us evaluate for ourselves what is right; let us come to know among ourselves what is good.


For Job says, ‘I am innocent, but God turns away my right.


Concerning my right, should I lie? My wound is incurable, although I am without transgression.’


What man is like Job, who drinks derision like water!


He goes about in company with evildoers, he goes along with wicked men.


For he says, ‘It does not profit a man when he makes his delight with God.’


“Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do wickedness, from the Almighty to do evil.


For he repays a person for his work, and according to the conduct of a person, he causes the consequences to find him.


Indeed, in truth, God does not act wickedly, and the Almighty does not pervert justice.


Who entrusted to him the earth? And who put him over the whole world?


If God were to set his heart on it, and gather in his spirit and his breath,


all flesh would perish together and human beings would return to dust.


“If you have understanding, listen to this, hear what I have to say.


Do you really think that one who hates justice can govern? And will you declare guilty the supremely righteous One,


who says to a king, ‘Worthless man’ and to nobles, ‘Wicked men,’


who shows no partiality to princes, and does not take note of the rich more than the poor, because all of them are the work of his hands?


In a moment they die, in the middle of the night, people are shaken and they pass away. The mighty are removed effortlessly.


For his eyes are on the ways of an individual, he observes all a person’s steps.


There is no darkness, and no deep darkness, where evildoers can hide themselves.


For he does not still consider a person, that he should come before God in judgment.


He shatters the great without inquiry, and sets up others in their place.


Therefore, he knows their deeds, he overthrows them in the night and they are crushed.


He strikes them for their wickedness, in a place where people can see,


because they have turned away from following him, and have not understood any of his ways,


so that they caused the cry of the poor to come before him, so that he hears the cry of the needy.


But if God is quiet, who can condemn him? If he hides his face, then who can see him? Yet he is over the individual and the nation alike,


so that the godless man should not rule, and not lay snares for the people.


“Has anyone said to God, ‘I have endured chastisement, but I will not act wrongly any more.


Teach me what I cannot see. If I have done evil, I will do so no more.’


Is it your opinion that God should recompense it, because you reject this? But you must choose, and not I, so tell us what you know.


Men of understanding say to me – any wise man listening to me says –


that Job speaks without knowledge and his words are without understanding.


But Job will be tested to the end, because his answers are like those of wicked men.


For he adds transgression to his sin; in our midst he claps his hands, and multiplies his words against God.”


Then Elihu answered:


“Do you think this to be just: when you say, ‘My right before God.’


But you say, ‘What will it profit you,’ and, ‘What do I gain by not sinning?’


I will reply to you, and to your friends with you.


Gaze at the heavens and see; consider the clouds, which are higher than you!


If you sin, how does it affect God? If your transgressions are many, what does it do to him?


If you are righteous, what do you give to God, or what does he receive from your hand?


Your wickedness affects only a person like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.


“People cry out because of the excess of oppression; they cry out for help because of the power of the mighty.


But no one says, ‘Where is God, my Creator, who gives songs in the night,


who teaches us more than the wild animals of the earth, and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?’


Then they cry out – but he does not answer – because of the arrogance of the wicked.


Surely it is an empty cry – God does not hear it; the Almighty does not take notice of it.


How much less, then, when you say that you do not perceive him, that the case is before him and you are waiting for him!


And further, when you say that his anger does not punish, and that he does not know transgression!


So Job opens his mouth to no purpose; without knowledge he multiplies words.”


Elihu said further:


“Be patient with me a little longer and I will instruct you, for I still have words to speak on God’s behalf.


With my knowledge I will speak comprehensively, and to my Creator I will ascribe righteousness.


For in truth, my words are not false; it is one complete in knowledge who is with you.


Indeed, God is mighty; and he does not despise people, he is mighty, and firm in his intent.


He does not allow the wicked to live, but he gives justice to the poor.


He does not take his eyes off the righteous; but with kings on the throne he seats the righteous and exalts them forever.


But if they are bound in chains, and held captive by the cords of affliction,


then he reveals to them what they have done, and their transgressions, that they were behaving proudly.


And he reveals this for correction, and says that they must turn from evil.


If they obey and serve him, they live out their days in prosperity and their years in pleasantness.


But if they refuse to listen, they pass over the river of death, and expire without knowledge.


The godless at heart nourish anger, they do not cry out even when he binds them.


They die in their youth, and their life ends among the male cultic prostitutes.


He delivers the afflicted by their afflictions, he reveals himself to them by their suffering.


And surely, he drew you from the mouth of distress, to a wide place, unrestricted, and to the comfort of your table filled with rich food.


But now you are preoccupied with the judgment due the wicked, judgment and justice take hold of you.


Be careful that no one entices you with riches; do not let a large bribe turn you aside.


Would your wealth sustain you, so that you would not be in distress, even all your mighty efforts?


Do not long for the cover of night to drag people away from their homes.


Take heed, do not turn to evil, for because of this you have been tested by affliction.


Indeed, God is exalted in his power; who is a teacher like him?


Who has prescribed his ways for him? Or said to him, ‘You have done what is wicked’?


Remember to extol his work, which people have praised in song.


All humanity has seen it; people gaze on it from afar.


“Yes, God is great – beyond our knowledge! The number of his years is unsearchable.


He draws up drops of water; they distill the rain into its mist,


which the clouds pour down and shower on humankind abundantly.


Who can understand the spreading of the clouds, the thunderings of his pavilion?


See how he scattered his lightning about him; he has covered the depths of the sea.


It is by these that he judges the nations and supplies food in abundance.


With his hands he covers the lightning, and directs it against its target.


His thunder announces the coming storm, the cattle also, concerning the storm’s approach.


At this also my heart pounds and leaps from its place.


Listen carefully to the thunder of his voice, to the rumbling that proceeds from his mouth.


Under the whole heaven he lets it go, even his lightning to the far corners of the earth.


After that a voice roars; he thunders with an exalted voice, and he does not hold back his lightning bolts when his voice is heard.


God thunders with his voice in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding.


For to the snow he says, ‘Fall to earth,’ and to the torrential rains, ‘Pour down.’


He causes everyone to stop working, so that all people may know his work.


The wild animals go to their lairs, and in their dens they remain.


A tempest blows out from its chamber, icy cold from the driving winds.


The breath of God produces ice, and the breadth of the waters freeze solid.


He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through the clouds.


The clouds go round in circles, wheeling about according to his plans, to carry out all that he commands them over the face of the whole inhabited world.


Whether it is for punishment for his land, or whether it is for mercy, he causes it to find its mark.


“Pay attention to this, Job! Stand still and consider the wonders God works.


Do you know how God commands them, how he makes lightning flash in his storm cloud?


Do you know about the balancing of the clouds, that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge?


You, whose garments are hot when the earth is still because of the south wind,


will you, with him, spread out the clouds, solid as a mirror of molten metal?


Tell us what we should say to him. We cannot prepare a case because of the darkness.


Should he be informed that I want to speak? If a man speaks, surely he would be swallowed up!


But now, the sun cannot be looked at – it is bright in the skies – after a wind passed and swept the clouds away.


From the north he comes in golden splendor; around God is awesome majesty.


As for the Almighty, we cannot attain to him! He is great in power, but justice and abundant righteousness he does not oppress.


Therefore people fear him, for he does not regard all the wise in heart.”


Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:


“Who is this who darkens counsel with words without knowledge?


Get ready for a difficult task like a man; I will question you and you will inform me!


“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you possess understanding!


Who set its measurements – if you know – or who stretched a measuring line across it?


On what were its bases set, or who laid its cornerstone –


when the morning stars sang in chorus, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?


“Who shut up the sea with doors when it burst forth, coming out of the womb,


when I made the storm clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band,


when I prescribed its limits, and set in place its bolts and doors,


when I said, ‘To here you may come and no farther, here your proud waves will be confined’?


Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, or made the dawn know its place,


that it might seize the corners of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it?


The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its features are dyed like a garment.


Then from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm raised in violence is broken.


Have you gone to the springs that fill the sea, or walked about in the recesses of the deep?


Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Have you seen the gates of deepest darkness?


Have you considered the vast expanses of the earth? Tell me, if you know it all!


“In what direction does light reside, and darkness, where is its place,


that you may take them to their borders and perceive the pathways to their homes?


You know, for you were born before them; and the number of your days is great!


Have you entered the storehouse of the snow, or seen the armory of the hail,


which I reserve for the time of trouble, for the day of war and battle?


In what direction is lightning dispersed, or the east winds scattered over the earth?


Who carves out a channel for the heavy rains, and a path for the rumble of thunder,


to cause it to rain on an uninhabited land, a desert where there are no human beings,


to satisfy a devastated and desolate land, and to cause it to sprout with vegetation?


Does the rain have a father, or who has fathered the drops of the dew?


From whose womb does the ice emerge, and the frost from the sky, who gives birth to it,


when the waters become hard like stone, when the surface of the deep is frozen solid?


Can you tie the bands of the Pleiades, or release the cords of Orion?


Can you lead out the constellations in their seasons, or guide the Bear with its cubs?


Do you know the laws of the heavens, or can you set up their rule over the earth?


Can you raise your voice to the clouds so that a flood of water covers you?


Can you send out lightning bolts, and they go? Will they say to you, ‘Here we are’?


Who has put wisdom in the heart, or has imparted understanding to the mind?


Who by wisdom can count the clouds, and who can tip over the water jars of heaven,


when the dust hardens into a mass, and the clumps of earth stick together?


“Do you hunt prey for the lioness, and satisfy the appetite of the lions,


when they crouch in their dens, when they wait in ambush in the thicket?


Who prepares prey for the raven, when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?


“Are you acquainted with the way the mountain goats give birth? Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?


Do you count the months they must fulfill, and do you know the time they give birth?


They crouch, they bear their young, they bring forth the offspring they have carried.


Their young grow strong, and grow up in the open; they go off, and do not return to them.


Who let the wild donkey go free? Who released the bonds of the donkey,


to whom I appointed the steppe for its home, the salt wastes as its dwelling place?


It scorns the tumult in the town; it does not hear the shouts of a driver.


It ranges the hills as its pasture, and searches after every green plant.


Is the wild ox willing to be your servant? Will it spend the night at your feeding trough?


Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope, will it till the valleys, following after you?


Will you rely on it because its strength is great? Will you commit your labor to it?


Can you count on it to bring in your grain, and gather the grain to your threshing floor?


“The wings of the ostrich flap with joy, but are they the pinions and plumage of a stork?


For she leaves her eggs on the ground, and lets them be warmed on the soil.


She forgets that a foot might crush them, or that a wild animal might trample them.


She is harsh with her young, as if they were not hers; she is unconcerned about the uselessness of her labor.


For God deprived her of wisdom, and did not impart understanding to her.


But as soon as she springs up, she laughs at the horse and its rider.


“Do you give the horse its strength? Do you clothe its neck with a mane?


Do you make it leap like a locust? Its proud neighing is terrifying!


It paws the ground in the valley, exulting mightily, it goes out to meet the weapons.


It laughs at fear and is not dismayed; it does not shy away from the sword.


On it the quiver rattles; the lance and javelin flash.


In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet is blown.


At the sound of the trumpet, it says, ‘Aha!’ And from a distance it catches the scent of battle, the thunderous shouting of commanders, and the battle cries.


“Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings toward the south?


Is it at your command that the eagle soars, and builds its nest on high?


It lives on a rock and spends the night there, on a rocky crag and a fortress.


From there it spots its prey, its eyes gaze intently from a distance.


And its young ones devour the blood, and where the dead carcasses are, there it is.”


Then the Lord answered Job:


“Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let the person who accuses God give him an answer!”


Then Job answered the Lord:


“Indeed, I am completely unworthy – how could I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth to silence myself.


I have spoken once, but I cannot answer; twice, but I will say no more.”


Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:


“Get ready for a difficult task like a man. I will question you and you will inform me!


Would you indeed annul my justice? Would you declare me guilty so that you might be right?


Do you have an arm as powerful as God’s, and can you thunder with a voice like his?


Adorn yourself, then, with majesty and excellency, and clothe yourself with glory and honor!


Scatter abroad the abundance of your anger. Look at every proud man and bring him low;


Look at every proud man and abase him; crush the wicked on the spot!


Hide them in the dust together, imprison them in the grave.


Then I myself will acknowledge to you that your own right hand can save you.


“Look now at Behemoth, which I made as I made you; it eats grass like the ox.


Look at its strength in its loins, and its power in the muscles of its belly.


It makes its tail stiff like a cedar, the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.


Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of iron.


It ranks first among the works of God, the One who made it has furnished it with a sword.


For the hills bring it food, where all the wild animals play.


Under the lotus trees it lies, in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh.


The lotus trees conceal it in their shadow; the poplars by the stream conceal it.


If the river rages, it is not disturbed, it is secure, though the Jordan should surge up to its mouth.


Can anyone catch it by its eyes, or pierce its nose with a snare?


“Can you pull in Leviathan with a hook, and tie down its tongue with a rope?


Can you put a cord through its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook?


Will it make numerous supplications to you, will it speak to you with tender words?


Will it make a pact with you, so you could take it as your slave for life?


Can you play with it, like a bird, or tie it on a leash for your girls?


Will partners bargain for it? Will they divide it up among the merchants?


Can you fill its hide with harpoons or its head with fishing spears?


If you lay your hand on it, you will remember the fight, and you will never do it again!


See, his expectation is wrong, he is laid low even at the sight of it.


Is it not fierce when it is awakened? Who is he, then, who can stand before it?


(Who has confronted me that I should repay? Everything under heaven belongs to me!)


I will not keep silent about its limbs, and the extent of its might, and the grace of its arrangement.


Who can uncover its outer covering? Who can penetrate to the inside of its armor?


Who can open the doors of its mouth? Its teeth all around are fearsome.


Its back has rows of shields, shut up closely together as with a seal;


each one is so close to the next that no air can come between them.


They lock tightly together, one to the next; they cling together and cannot be separated.


Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the red glow of dawn.


Out of its mouth go flames, sparks of fire shoot forth!


Smoke streams from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning rushes.


Its breath sets coals ablaze and a flame shoots from its mouth.


Strength lodges in its neck, and despair runs before it.


The folds of its flesh are tightly joined; they are firm on it, immovable.


Its heart is hard as rock, hard as a lower millstone.


When it rises up, the mighty are terrified, at its thrashing about they withdraw.


Whoever strikes it with a sword will have no effect, nor with the spear, arrow, or dart.


It regards iron as straw and bronze as rotten wood.


Arrows do not make it flee; slingstones become like chaff to it.


A club is counted as a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.


Its underparts are the sharp points of potsherds, it leaves its mark in the mud like a threshing sledge.


It makes the deep boil like a cauldron and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment,


It leaves a glistening wake behind it; one would think the deep had a head of white hair.


The likes of it is not on earth, a creature without fear.


It looks on every haughty being; it is king over all that are proud.”


Then Job answered the Lord:


“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted;


you asked, ‘Who is this who darkens counsel without knowledge?’ But I have declared without understanding things too wonderful for me to know.


You said, ‘Pay attention, and I will speak; I will question you, and you will answer me.’


I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye has seen you.


Therefore I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes!


After the Lord had spoken these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My anger is stirred up against you and your two friends, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.


So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job will intercede for you, and I will respect him, so that I do not deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken about me what is right, as my servant Job has.”


So they went, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite, and did just as the Lord had told them; and the Lord had respect for Job.


So the Lord restored what Job had lost after he prayed for his friends, and the Lord doubled all that had belonged to Job.


So they came to him, all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and they dined with him in his house. They comforted him and consoled him for all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.


So the Lord blessed the second part of Job’s life more than the first. He had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.


And he also had seven sons and three daughters.


The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-Happuch.


Nowhere in all the land could women be found who were as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance alongside their brothers.


After this Job lived 140 years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.


And so Job died, old and full of days.


How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand in the pathway with sinners, or sit in the assembly of scoffers!


Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; he meditates on his commands day and night.


He is like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off. He succeeds in everything he attempts.


Not so with the wicked! Instead they are like wind-driven chaff.


For this reason the wicked cannot withstand judgment, nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly.


Certainly the Lord guards the way of the godly, but the way of the wicked ends in destruction.


Why do the nations rebel? Why are the countries devising plots that will fail?


The kings of the earth form a united front; the rulers collaborate against the Lord and his anointed king.


They say, “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us! Let’s free ourselves from their ropes!”


The one enthroned in heaven laughs in disgust; the Lord taunts them.


Then he angrily speaks to them and terrifies them in his rage, saying,


“I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill.”


The king says, “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me: ‘You are my son! This very day I have become your father!


Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your personal property.


You will break them with an iron scepter; you will smash them like a potter’s jar!’”


So now, you kings, do what is wise; you rulers of the earth, submit to correction!


Serve the Lord in fear! Repent in terror!


Give sincere homage! Otherwise he will be angry, and you will die because of your behavior, when his anger quickly ignites. How blessed are all who take shelter in him!


Lord, how numerous are my enemies! Many attack me.


Many say about me, “God will not deliver him.” (Selah)


But you, Lord, are a shield that protects me; you are my glory and the one who restores me.


To the Lord I cried out, and he answered me from his holy hill. (Selah)


I rested and slept; I awoke, for the Lord protects me.


I am not afraid of the multitude of people who attack me from all directions.


Rise up, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Yes, you will strike all my enemies on the jaw; you will break the teeth of the wicked.


The Lord delivers; you show favor to your people. (Selah)


When I call out, answer me, O God who vindicates me! Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place. Have mercy on me and respond to my prayer!


You men, how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? How long will you love what is worthless and search for what is deceptive? (Selah)


Realize that the Lord shows the godly special favor; the Lord responds when I cry out to him.


Tremble with fear and do not sin! Meditate as you lie in bed, and repent of your ways! (Selah)


Offer the prescribed sacrifices and trust in the Lord!


Many say, “Who can show us anything good?” Smile upon us, Lord!


You make me happier than those who have abundant grain and wine.


I will lie down and sleep peacefully, for you, Lord, make me safe and secure.


Listen to what I say, Lord! Carefully consider my complaint!


Pay attention to my cry for help, my king and my God, for I am praying to you!


Lord, in the morning you will hear me; in the morning I will present my case to you and then wait expectantly for an answer.


Certainly you are not a God who approves of evil; evil people cannot dwell with you.


Arrogant people cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who behave wickedly.


You destroy liars; the Lord despises violent and deceitful people.


But as for me, because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house; I will bow down toward your holy temple as I worship you.


Lord, lead me in your righteousness because of those who wait to ambush me, remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me!


For they do not speak the truth; their stomachs are like the place of destruction, their throats like an open grave, their tongues like a steep slope leading into it.


Condemn them, O God! May their own schemes be their downfall! Drive them away because of their many acts of insurrection, for they have rebelled against you.


But may all who take shelter in you be happy! May they continually shout for joy! Shelter them so that those who are loyal to you may rejoice!


Certainly you reward the godly, Lord. Like a shield you protect them in your good favor.


Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger! Do not discipline me in your raging fury!


Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am frail! Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking!


I am absolutely terrified, and you, Lord – how long will this continue?


Relent, Lord, rescue me! Deliver me because of your faithfulness!


For no one remembers you in the realm of death, In Sheol who gives you thanks?


I am exhausted as I groan; all night long I drench my bed in tears; my tears saturate the cushion beneath me.


My eyes grow dim from suffering; they grow weak because of all my enemies.


Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping!


The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy; the Lord has accepted my prayer.


May all my enemies be humiliated and absolutely terrified! May they turn back and be suddenly humiliated!


O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter. Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!


Otherwise they will rip me to shreds like a lion; they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me.


O Lord my God, if I have done what they say, or am guilty of unjust actions,


or have wronged my ally, or helped his lawless enemy,


may an enemy relentlessly chase me and catch me; may he trample me to death and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. (Selah)


Stand up angrily, Lord! Rise up with raging fury against my enemies! Wake up for my sake and execute the judgment you have decreed for them!


The countries are assembled all around you; take once more your rightful place over them!


The Lord judges the nations. Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent, because I am blameless, O Exalted One!


May the evil deeds of the wicked come to an end! But make the innocent secure, O righteous God, you who examine inner thoughts and motives!


The Exalted God is my shield, the one who delivers the morally upright.


God is a just judge; he is angry throughout the day.


If a person does not repent, God sharpens his sword and prepares to shoot his bow.


He prepares to use deadly weapons against him; he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows.


See the one who is pregnant with wickedness, who conceives destructive plans, and gives birth to harmful lies –


he digs a pit and then falls into the hole he has made.


He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head.


I will thank the Lord for his justice; I will sing praises to the sovereign Lord!


O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth! You reveal your majesty in the heavens above!


From the mouths of children and nursing babies you have ordained praise on account of your adversaries, so that you might put an end to the vindictive enemy.


When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made, and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place,


Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them? Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them,


and make them a little less than the heavenly beings? You grant mankind honor and majesty;


you appoint them to rule over your creation; you have placed everything under their authority,


including all the sheep and cattle, as well as the wild animals,


the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea and everything that moves through the currents of the seas.


O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth!


I will thank the Lord with all my heart! I will tell about all your amazing deeds!


I will be happy and rejoice in you! I will sing praises to you, O sovereign One!


When my enemies turn back, they trip and are defeated before you.


For you defended my just cause; from your throne you pronounced a just decision.


You terrified the nations with your battle cry; you destroyed the wicked; you permanently wiped out all memory of them.


The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins; you destroyed their cities; all memory of the enemies has perished.


But the Lord rules forever; he reigns in a just manner.


He judges the world fairly; he makes just legal decisions for the nations.


Consequently the Lord provides safety for the oppressed; he provides safety in times of trouble.


Your loyal followers trust in you, for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.


Sing praises to the Lord, who rules in Zion! Tell the nations what he has done!


For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed; he did not overlook their cry for help


when they prayed: “Have mercy on me, Lord! See how I am oppressed by those who hate me, O one who can snatch me away from the gates of death!


Then I will tell about all your praiseworthy acts; in the gates of Daughter Zion I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”


The nations fell into the pit they had made; their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.


The Lord revealed himself; he accomplished justice; the wicked were ensnared by their own actions. (Higgaion. Selah)


The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol; this is the destiny of all the nations that ignore God,


for the needy are not permanently ignored, the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.


Rise up, Lord! Don’t let men be defiant! May the nations be judged in your presence!


Terrify them, Lord! Let the nations know they are mere mortals! (Selah)


Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?


The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed; the oppressed are trapped by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.


Yes, the wicked man boasts because he gets what he wants; the one who robs others curses and rejects the Lord.


The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks, “God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”


He is secure at all times. He has no regard for your commands; he disdains all his enemies.


He says to himself, “I will never be upended, because I experience no calamity.”


His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; his tongue injures and destroys.


He waits in ambush near the villages; in hidden places he kills the innocent. His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.


He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket; he lies in ambush, waiting to catch the oppressed; he catches the oppressed by pulling in his net.


His victims are crushed and beaten down; they are trapped in his sturdy nets.


He says to himself, “God overlooks it; he does not pay attention; he never notices.”


Rise up, Lord! O God, strike him down! Do not forget the oppressed!


Why does the wicked man reject God? He says to himself, “You will not hold me accountable.”


You have taken notice, for you always see one who inflicts pain and suffering. The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you; you deliver the fatherless.


Break the arm of the wicked and evil man! Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds, which he thought you would not discover.


The Lord rules forever! The nations are driven out of his land.


Lord, you have heard the request of the oppressed; you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.


You defend the fatherless and oppressed, so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.


In the Lord I have taken shelter. How can you say to me, “Flee to a mountain like a bird!


For look, the wicked prepare their bows, they put their arrows on the strings, to shoot in the darkness at the morally upright.


When the foundations are destroyed, what can the godly accomplish?”


The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven. His eyes watch; his eyes examine all people.


The Lord approves of the godly, but he hates the wicked and those who love to do violence.


May the Lord rain down burning coals and brimstone on the wicked! A whirlwind is what they deserve!


Certainly the Lord is just; he rewards godly deeds; the upright will experience his favor.


Deliver, Lord! For the godly have disappeared; people of integrity have vanished.


People lie to one another; they flatter and deceive.


May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that boasts!


They say, “We speak persuasively; we know how to flatter and boast. Who is our master?”


“Because of the violence done to the oppressed, because of the painful cries of the needy, I will spring into action,” says the Lord. “I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”


The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable. They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground, where it is thoroughly refined.


You, Lord, will protect them; you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,


for the wicked seem to be everywhere, when people promote evil.


How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me? How long will you pay no attention to me?


How long must I worry, and suffer in broad daylight? How long will my enemy gloat over me?


Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God! Revive me, or else I will die!


Then my enemy will say, “I have defeated him!” Then my foes will rejoice because I am upended.


But I trust in your faithfulness. May I rejoice because of your deliverance!


I will sing praises to the Lord when he vindicates me.


Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.” They sin and commit evil deeds; none of them does what is right.


The Lord looks down from heaven at the human race, to see if there is anyone who is wise and seeks God.


Everyone rejects God; they are all morally corrupt. None of them does what is right, not even one!


All those who behave wickedly do not understand – those who devour my people as if they were eating bread, and do not call out to the Lord.


They are absolutely terrified, for God defends the godly.


You want to humiliate the oppressed, even though the Lord is their shelter.


I wish the deliverance of Israel would come from Zion! When the Lord restores the well-being of his people, may Jacob rejoice, may Israel be happy!


Lord, who may be a guest in your home? Who may live on your holy hill?


Whoever lives a blameless life, does what is right, and speaks honestly.


He does not slander, or do harm to others, or insult his neighbor.


He despises a reprobate, but honors the Lord’s loyal followers. He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.


He does not charge interest when he lends his money. He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent. The one who lives like this will never be upended.


Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.


I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord, my only source of well-being.”


As for God’s chosen people who are in the land, and the leading officials I admired so much –


their troubles multiply, they desire other gods. I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods, nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.


Lord, you give me stability and prosperity; you make my future secure.


It is as if I have been given fertile fields or received a beautiful tract of land.


I will praise the Lord who guides me; yes, during the night I reflect and learn.


I constantly trust in the Lord; because he is at my right hand, I will not be upended.


So my heart rejoices and I am happy; My life is safe.


You will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful follower to see the Pit.


You lead me in the path of life; I experience absolute joy in your presence; you always give me sheer delight.


Lord, consider my just cause! Pay attention to my cry for help! Listen to the prayer I sincerely offer!


Make a just decision on my behalf! Decide what is right!


You have scrutinized my inner motives; you have examined me during the night. You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin. I am determined I will say nothing sinful.


As for the actions of people – just as you have commanded, I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.


I carefully obey your commands; I do not deviate from them.


I call to you for you will answer me, O God. Listen to me! Hear what I say!


Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds, you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.


Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye! Hide me in the shadow of your wings!


Protect me from the wicked men who attack me, my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.


They are calloused; they speak arrogantly.


They attack me, now they surround me; they intend to throw me to the ground.


He is like a lion that wants to tear its prey to bits, like a young lion crouching in hidden places.


Rise up, Lord! Confront him! Knock him down! Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man!