“For then you will delight in the Almighty And lift up your face to God.
“When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence, And the humble person He will save.
“He will deliver one who is not innocent, And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
“I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would say to me.
“Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me.
“There the upright would reason with Him; And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.
When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.
“But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
“I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
“It is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has dismayed me,
But I am not silenced by the darkness, Nor deep gloom which covers me.
“Why are times not stored up by the Almighty, And why do those who know Him not see His days?
“Some remove the landmarks; They seize and devour flocks.
“They drive away the donkeys of the orphans; They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
“They push the needy aside from the road; The poor of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.
“Behold, as wild donkeys in the wilderness They go forth seeking food in their activity, As bread for their children in the desert.
“They harvest their fodder in the field And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
“They spend the night naked, without clothing, And have no covering against the cold.
“They are wet with the mountain rains And hug the rock for want of a shelter.
“Others snatch the orphan from the breast, And against the poor they take a pledge.
“They cause the poor to go about naked without clothing, And they take away the sheaves from the hungry.
“Within the walls they produce oil; They tread wine presses but thirst.
“From the city men groan, And the souls of the wounded cry out; Yet God does not pay attention to folly.
“Others have been with those who rebel against the light; They do not want to know its ways Nor abide in its paths.
“The murderer arises at dawn; He kills the poor and the needy, And at night he is as a thief.
“The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’ And he disguises his face.
“In the dark they dig into houses, They shut themselves up by day; They do not know the light.
“For the morning is the same to him as thick darkness, For he is familiar with the terrors of thick darkness.
“They are insignificant on the surface of the water; Their portion is cursed on the earth. They do not turn toward the vineyards.
“Drought and heat consume the snow waters, So does Sheol those who have sinned.
“A mother will forget him; The worm feeds sweetly till he is no longer remembered. And wickedness will be broken like a tree.
“He wrongs the barren woman And does no good for the widow.
“But He drags off the valiant by His power; He rises, but no one has assurance of life.
“They are exalted a little while, then they are gone; Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up; Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.
Then Bildad the Shuhite answered,
“If even the moon has no brightness And the stars are not pure in His sight,
How much less man, that maggot, And the son of man, that worm!”
“What a help you are to the weak! How you have saved the arm without strength!
“The departed spirits tremble Under the waters and their inhabitants.
“He stretches out the north over empty space And hangs the earth on nothing.
“He wraps up the waters in His clouds, And the cloud does not burst under them.
“He obscures the face of the full moon And spreads His cloud over it.
“He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters At the boundary of light and darkness.
“The pillars of heaven tremble And are amazed at His rebuke.
“He quieted the sea with His power, And by His understanding He shattered Rahab.
“By His breath the heavens are cleared; His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.
“Behold, these are the fringes of His ways; And how faint a word we hear of Him! But His mighty thunder, who can understand?”
“As God lives, who has taken away my right, And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,
For as long as life is in me, And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
“May my enemy be as the wicked And my opponent as the unjust.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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