And

…so that I would prefer strangling and death over my life in this body.

…that You attend to him every morning, and test him every moment?

Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”

But if you would earnestly seek God and ask the Almighty for mercy,

…if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate.

…if you are pure and upright, even now He will rouse Himself on your behalf and restore your righteous estate.

Please inquire of past generations and consider the discoveries of their fathers.

For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.

Will they not teach you and tell you, and speak from their understanding?

Will they not teach you and tell you, and speak from their understanding?

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with a shout of joy.

Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tent of the wicked will be no more.”

God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?

God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has resisted Him and prospered?

He moves mountains without their knowledge and overturns them in His anger.

He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea.

He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, of the Pleiades and the constellations of the south.

He does great things beyond searching out, and wonders without number.

If I summoned Him and He answered me, I do not believe He would listen to my voice.

For He would crush me with a tempest and multiply my wounds without cause.

It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

It is all the same, and so I say, ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.’

If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint and change my expression and smile,’

If I were to say, ‘I will forget my complaint and change my expression and smile,’

If I should wash myself with snow and cleanse my hands with lye,

…then You would plunge me into the pit, and even my own clothes would despise me.

“I loathe my own life; I will express my complaint and speak in the bitterness of my soul.

Does it please You to oppress me, to reject the work of Your hands and favor the schemes of the wicked?

…that You should seek my iniquity and search out my sin—

…though You know that I am not guilty, and there is no deliverance from Your hand?

Your hands shaped me and altogether formed me. Would You now turn and destroy me?

Your hands shaped me and altogether formed me. Would You now turn and destroy me?

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

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

You have granted me life and loving devotion, and Your care has preserved my spirit.

You have granted me life and loving devotion, and Your care has preserved my spirit.

Yet You concealed these things in Your heart, and I know that this was in Your mind:

If I sinned, You would take note, and would not acquit me of my iniquity.

If I am guilty, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head. I am full of shame and aware of my affliction.

If I am guilty, woe to me! And even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head. I am full of shame and aware of my affliction.

Should I hold my head high, You would hunt me like a lion, and again display Your power against me.

You produce new witnesses against me and multiply Your anger toward me. Hardships assault me in wave after wave.

Why then did You bring me from the womb? Oh, that I had died, and no eye had seen me!

…before I go—never to return—to a land of darkness and gloom,

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

“Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a speaker be vindicated?

You have said, ‘My doctrine is sound, and I am pure in Your sight.’

But if only God would speak and open His lips against you,

…and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.

Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

As for you, if you direct your heart and lift up your hands to Him,

…if you put away the iniquity in your hand, and allow no injustice to dwell in your tents,

…then indeed you will lift up your face without blemish; you will stand firm and unafraid.

You will be secure, because there is hope, and you will look around and lie down in safety.

You will be secure, because there is hope, and you will look around and lie down in safety.

You will lie down without fear, and many will court your favor.

But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”

I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock.

The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure—those who carry their god in their hands.

But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.

But ask the animals, and they will instruct you; ask the birds of the air, and they will tell you.

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

Wisdom is found with the elderly, and understanding comes with long life.

Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are His.

Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are His.

If He holds back the waters, they dry up, and if He releases them, they overwhelm the land.

True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His.

True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His.

He leads counselors away barefoot and makes fools of judges.

He loosens the bonds placed by kings and fastens a belt around their waists.

He leads priests away barefoot and overthrows the established.

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

He pours out contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty.

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

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

He deprives the earth’s leaders of reason and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.

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

Yet I desire to speak to the Almighty and argue my case before God.

Hear now my argument, and listen to the plea of my lips.

Be silent, and I will speak. Then let come to me what may.

Why do I put myself at risk and take my life in my own hands?

Can anyone indict me? If so, I will be silent and die.

Withdraw Your hand from me, and do not let Your terror frighten me.

Then call me, and I will answer, or let me speak, and You can reply.

Then call me, and I will answer, or let me speak, and You can reply.

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

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

Why do You hide Your face and consider me as Your enemy?

For You record bitter accusations against me and bequeath to me the iniquities of my youth.

You put my feet in the stocks and stand watch over all my paths; You set a limit for the soles of my feet.

“Man, who is born of woman, is short of days and full of trouble.

Since his days are determined and the number of his months is with You, and since You have set limits that he cannot exceed,

Since his days are determined and the number of his months is with You, and since You have set limits that he cannot exceed,

…look away from him and let him rest, so he can enjoy his day as a hired hand.

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

If its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the soil,