² “Would a wise person answer with empty notions
    or fill their belly with the hot east wind?^(B)
3 Would they argue with useless words,
    with speeches that have no value?^(C)
4 But you even undermine piety
    and hinder devotion to God.^(D)
5 Your sin^(E) prompts your mouth;^(F)
    you adopt the tongue of the crafty.^(G)
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
    your own lips testify against you.^(H)

⁷ “Are you the first man ever born?^(I)
    Were you brought forth before the hills?^(J)
8 Do you listen in on God’s council?^(K)
    Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?^(L)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
    What insights do you have that we do not have?^(M)
10 The gray-haired and the aged^(N) are on our side,
    men even older than your father.^(O)
11 Are God’s consolations^(P) not enough for you,
    words^(Q) spoken gently to you?^(R)
12 Why has your heart^(S) carried you away,
    and why do your eyes flash,
¹³ so that you vent your rage^(T) against God
    and pour out such words^(U) from your mouth?^(V)

¹⁴ “What are mortals, that they could be pure,
    or those born of woman,^(W) that they could be righteous?^(X)
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,^(Y)
    if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,^(Z)
16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,^(AA)
    who drink up evil^(AB) like water!^(AC)

¹⁷ “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
    let me tell you what I have seen,^(AD)
18 what the wise have declared,
    hiding nothing received from their ancestors^(AE)
19 (to whom alone the land^(AF) was given
    when no foreigners moved among them):
²⁰ All his days the wicked man suffers torment,^(AG)
    the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.^(AH)
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;^(AI)
    when all seems well, marauders attack him.^(AJ)
22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;^(AK)
    he is marked for the sword.^(AL)
23 He wanders about^(AM) for food like a vulture;^(AN)
    he knows the day of darkness^(AO) is at hand.^(AP)
24 Distress and anguish^(AQ) fill him with terror;^(AR)
    troubles overwhelm him, like a king^(AS) poised to attack,
²⁵ because he shakes his fist^(AT) at God
    and vaunts himself against the Almighty,^(AU)
26 defiantly charging against him
    with a thick, strong shield.^(AV)

²⁷ “Though his face is covered with fat
    and his waist bulges with flesh,^(AW)
28 he will inhabit ruined towns
    and houses where no one lives,^(AX)
    houses crumbling to rubble.^(AY)
29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,^(AZ)
    nor will his possessions spread over the land.^(BA)
30 He will not escape the darkness;^(BB)
    a flame^(BC) will wither his shoots,^(BD)
    and the breath of God’s mouth^(BE) will carry him away.^(BF)
31 Let him not deceive^(BG) himself by trusting what is worthless,^(BH)
    for he will get nothing in return.^(BI)
32 Before his time^(BJ) he will wither,^(BK)
    and his branches will not flourish.^(BL)
33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,^(BM)
    like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.^(BN)
34 For the company of the godless^(BO) will be barren,
    and fire will consume^(BP) the tents of those who love bribes.^(BQ)
35 They conceive trouble^(BR) and give birth to evil;^(BS)
    their womb fashions deceit.”

² “How long will you say such things?^(B)
    Your words are a blustering wind.^(C)
3 Does God pervert justice?^(D)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?^(E)
4 When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.^(F)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead^(G) with the Almighty,^(H)
6 if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf^(I)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.^(J)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous^(K) will your future be.^(L)

⁸ “Ask the former generation^(M)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
⁹ for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,^(N)
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.^(O)
10 Will they not instruct^(P) you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?^(Q)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?^(R)
    Can reeds^(S) thrive without water?
¹² While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.^(T)
13 Such is the destiny^(U) of all who forget God;^(V)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.^(W)
14 What they trust in is fragile^[a];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.^(X)
15 They lean on the web,^(Y) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.^(Z)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots^(AA) over the garden;^(AB)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns^(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’^(AD)
19 Surely its life withers^(AE) away,
    and^[b] from the soil other plants grow.^(AF)

²⁰ “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless^(AG)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.^(AH)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter^(AI)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.^(AJ)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,^(AK)
    and the tents^(AL) of the wicked will be no more.”^(AM)