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¹“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For irritation kills the fool, And jealousy brings death to the simple.

³I have seen the fool taking root, And I cursed his home immediately.

⁴His sons are far from safety, They are also oppressed at the gate, And there is no one to save them.

⁵The hungry devour his harvest And take it to a place of thorns, And the schemer is eager for their wealth.

⁶For disaster does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

⁷For man is born for trouble, As sparks fly upward.

⁸“But as for me, I would seek God, And I would make my plea before God,

⁹Who does great and unsearchable things, Wonders without number.

¹⁰He gives rain on the earth, And sends water on the fields,

¹¹So that He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²He frustrates the schemes of the shrewd, So that their hands cannot attain success.

¹³He captures the wise by their own cleverness, And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

¹⁴By day they meet with darkness, And grope at noon as in the night.

¹⁵But He saves from the sword of their mouth, And the poor from the hand of the strong.

¹⁶So the helpless has hope, And injustice has shut its mouth.

¹⁷“Behold, happy is the person whom God disciplines, So do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.

¹⁸For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, but His hands also heal.

¹⁹In six troubles He will save you; Even in seven, evil will not touch you.

²⁰In famine He will redeem you from death, And in war, from the power of the sword.

²¹You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

²²You will laugh at violence and hunger, And you will not be afraid of wild animals.

²³For you will be in league with the stones of the field, And the animals of the field will be at peace with you.

²⁴You will know that your tent is secure, For you will visit your home and have nothing missing.

²⁵You will also know that your descendants will be many, And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

²⁶You will come to the grave at a ripe age, Like the stacking of grain in its season.

²⁷Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is. Hear it, and know for yourself.”

¹Then Job responded,

²“Oh if only my grief were actually weighed And laid in the balances together with my disaster!

³For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; For that reason my words have been rash.

⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, My spirit drinks their poison; The terrors of God line up against me.

⁵Does the wild donkey bray over his grass, Or does the ox low over his feed?

⁶Can something tasteless be eaten without salt, Or is there any taste in the juice of an alkanet plant?

⁷My soul refuses to touch them; They are like loathsome food to me.

⁸“Oh, that my request might come to pass, And that God would grant my hope!

⁹Oh, that God would decide to crush me, That He would let loose His hand and cut me off!

¹⁰But it is still my comfort, And I rejoice in unsparing pain, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should endure?

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones, Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³Is it that my help is not within me, And that a good outcome is driven away from me?

¹⁴“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend; So that he does not abandon the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi, Like the torrents of wadis which drain away,

¹⁶Which are darkened because of ice, And into which the snow melts.

¹⁷When they dry up, they vanish; When it is hot, they disappear from their place.

¹⁸The paths of their course wind along, They go up into wasteland and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema looked, The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.

²⁰They were put to shame, for they had trusted, They came there and were humiliated.

²¹Indeed, you have now become such, You see terrors and are afraid.

²²Have I said, ‘Give me something,’ Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

²³Or, ‘Save me from the hand of the enemy,’ Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

²⁴“Teach me, and I will be silent; And show me how I have done wrong.

²⁵How painful are honest words! But what does your argument prove?

²⁶Do you intend to rebuke my words, When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

²⁷You would even cast lots for the orphans, And barter over your friend.

²⁸Now please look at me, And see if I am lying to your face.

²⁹Please turn away, let there be no injustice; Turn away, my righteousness is still in it.

³⁰Is there injustice on my tongue? Does my palate not discern disasters?

¹“Is a person not forced to labor on earth, And are his days not like the days of a hired worker?

²As a slave pants for the shade, And as a hired worker who eagerly waits for his wages,

³So I am allotted worthless months, And nights of trouble are apportioned to me.

⁴When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night continues, And I am continually tossing until dawn.

⁵My flesh is clothed with maggots and a crust of dirt, My skin hardens and oozes.

⁶My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And they come to an end without hope.

⁷“Remember that my life is a mere breath; My eye will not see goodness again.

⁸The eye of him who sees me will no longer look at me; Your eyes will be on me, but I will not exist.

⁹When a cloud vanishes, it is gone; In the same way one who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

¹⁰He will not return to his house again, Nor will his place know about him anymore.

¹¹“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

¹²Am I the sea, or the sea monster, That You set a guard over me?

¹³If I say, ‘My couch will comfort me, My bed will ease my complaint,’

¹⁴Then You frighten me with dreams, And terrify me by visions,

¹⁵So that my soul would choose suffocation, Death rather than my pains.

¹⁶I waste away; I will not live forever. Leave me alone, for my days are only a breath.

¹⁷What is man that You exalt him, And that You are concerned about him,

¹⁸That You examine him every morning And put him to the test every moment?

¹⁹Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, Nor leave me alone until I swallow my spittle?

²⁰Have I sinned? What have I done to You, Watcher of mankind? Why have You made me Your target, So that I am a burden to myself?

²¹Why then do You not forgive my wrongdoing And take away my guilt? For now I will lie down in the dust; And You will search for me, but I will no longer exist.”

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite responded,

²“How long will you say these things, And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

³Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert what is right?

⁴If your sons sinned against Him, Then He turned them over to the power of their wrongdoing.

⁵If you will search for God And implore the compassion of the Almighty,

⁶If you are pure and upright, Surely now He will stir Himself for you And restore your righteous estate.

⁷Though your beginning was insignificant, Yet your end will increase greatly.

⁸“Please inquire of past generations, And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

⁹For we are only of yesterday and know nothing, Because our days on earth are as a shadow.

¹⁰Will they not teach you and tell you, And bring forth words from their minds?

¹¹“Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh? Can the rushes grow without water?

¹²While it is still green and not cut down, Yet it withers before any other plant.

¹³So are the paths of all who forget God; And the hope of the godless will perish,

¹⁴His confidence is fragile, And his trust is a spider’s web.

¹⁵He depends on his house, but it does not stand; He holds on to it, but it does not endure.

¹⁶He flourishes before the sun, And his shoots spread out over his garden.

¹⁷His roots wrap around a rock pile, He grasps a house of stones.

¹⁸If he is removed from his place, Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

¹⁹Behold, this is the joy of His way; And out of the dust others will spring.

²⁰Behold, God will not reject a person of integrity, Nor will He help evildoers.

²¹He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, And your lips with joyful shouting.

²²Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, And the tent of the wicked will no longer exist.”