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2“Doubtless you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you!

3But I have a mind as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know all these things?

4“I have become a laughingstock to my friends,
though I called upon God and he answered—
a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless!

5Men at ease have contempt for misfortune
as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

6The tents of marauders are undisturbed,
and those who provoke God are secure—
those who carry their god in their hands.Or secure / in what God's hand brings them

7“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
or the birds of the air, and they will tell you;

8or speak to the earth, and it will teach you,
or let the fish of the sea inform you.

9Which of all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?

10In his hand is the life of every creature
and the breath of all mankind.

11Does not the ear test words
as the tongue tastes food?

12Is not wisdom found among the aged?
Does not long life bring understanding?

13“To God belong wisdom and power;
counsel and understanding are his.

14What he tears down cannot be rebuilt;
the man he imprisons cannot be released.

15If he holds back the waters, there is drought;
if he lets them loose, they devastate the land.

16To him belong strength and victory;
both deceived and deceiver are his.

17He leads counselors away stripped
and makes fools of judges.

18He takes off the shackles put on by kings
and ties a loinclothOr shackles of kings / and ties a belt around their waist.

19He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows men long established.

20He silences the lips of trusted advisers
and takes away the discernment of elders.

21He pours contempt on nobles
and disarms the mighty.

22He reveals the deep things of darkness
and brings deep shadows into the light.

23He makes nations great, and destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and disperses them.

24He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason;
he sends them wandering through a trackless waste.

25They grope in darkness with no light;
he makes them stagger like drunkards.

3But I desire to speak to the Almighty
and to argue my case with God.

4You, however, smear me with lies;
you are worthless physicians, all of you!

5If only you would be altogether silent!
For you, that would be wisdom.

6Hear now my argument;
listen to the plea of my lips.

7Will you speak wickedly on God's behalf?
Will you speak deceitfully for him?

8Will you show him partiality?
Will you argue the case for God?

9Would it turn out well if he examined you?
Could you deceive him as you might deceive men?

10He would surely rebuke you
if you secretly showed partiality.

11Would not his splendor terrify you?
Would not the dread of him fall on you?

12Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;
your defenses are defenses of clay.

13“Keep silent and let me speak;
then let come to me what may.

14Why do I put myself in jeopardy
and take my life in my hands?

15Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
I will surelyOr He will surely slay me; I have no hope — / yet I will defend my ways to his face.

16Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance,
for no godless man would dare come before him!

17Listen carefully to my words;
let your ears take in what I say.

18Now that I have prepared my case,
I know I will be vindicated.

19Can anyone bring charges against me?
If so, I will be silent and die.

20“Only grant me these two things, O God,
and then I will not hide from you:

21Withdraw your hand far from me,
and stop frightening me with your terrors.

22Then summon me and I will answer,
or let me speak, and you reply.

23How many wrongs and sins have I committed?
Show me my offense and my sin.

24Why do you hide your face
and consider me your enemy?

25Will you torment a windblown leaf?
Will you chase after dry chaff?

26For you write down bitter things against me
and make me inherit the sins of my youth.

27You fasten my feet in shackles;
you keep close watch on all my paths
by putting marks on the soles of my feet.

28“So man wastes away like something rotten,
like a garment eaten by moths.

2He springs up like a flower and withers away;
like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.

3Do you fix your eye on such a one?
Will you bring himSeptuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew me before you for judgment?

4Who can bring what is pure from the impure?
No one!

5Man's days are determined;
you have decreed the number of his months
and have set limits he cannot exceed.

6So look away from him and let him alone,
till he has put in his time like a hired man.

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

8Its roots may grow old in the ground
and its stump die in the soil,

9yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put forth shoots like a plant.

10But man dies and is laid low;
he breathes his last and is no more.

11As water disappears from the sea
or a riverbed becomes parched and dry,

12so man lies down and does not rise;
till the heavens are no more, men will not awake
or be roused from their sleep.

13“If only you would hide me in the graveHebrew Sheol
and conceal me till your anger has passed!
If only you would set me a time
and then remember me!

14If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my hard service
I will wait for my renewalOr release to come.

15You will call and I will answer you;
you will long for the creature your hands have made.

16Surely then you will count my steps
but not keep track of my sin.

17My offenses will be sealed up in a bag;
you will cover over my sin.

18“But as a mountain erodes and crumbles
and as a rock is moved from its place,

19as water wears away stones
and torrents wash away the soil,
so you destroy man's hope.

20You overpower him once for all, and he is gone;
you change his countenance and send him away.

21If his sons are honored, he does not know it;
if they are brought low, he does not see it.

22He feels but the pain of his own body
and mourns only for himself.”