³ “You must defend my innocence, O God,
    since no one else will stand up for me.
⁴ You have closed their minds to understanding,
    but do not let them triumph.
⁵ They betray their friends for their own advantage,
    so let their children faint with hunger.

⁶ “God has made a mockery of me among the people;
    they spit in my face.
⁷ My eyes are swollen with weeping,
    and I am but a shadow of my former self.
⁸ The virtuous are horrified when they see me.
    The innocent rise up against the ungodly.
⁹ The righteous keep moving forward,
    and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.

¹⁰ “As for all of you, come back with a better argument,
    though I still won’t find a wise man among you.
¹¹ My days are over.
    My hopes have disappeared.
    My heart’s desires are broken.
¹² These men say that night is day;
    they claim that the darkness is light.
¹³ What if I go to the grave^[a]
    and make my bed in darkness?
¹⁴ What if I call the grave my father,
    and the maggot my mother or my sister?
¹⁵ Where then is my hope?
    Can anyone find it?
¹⁶ No, my hope will go down with me to the grave.
    We will rest together in the dust!”

² “A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk!
    You are nothing but a windbag.
³ The wise don’t engage in empty chatter.
    What good are such words?
⁴ Have you no fear of God,
    no reverence for him?
⁵ Your sins are telling your mouth what to say.
    Your words are based on clever deception.
⁶ Your own mouth condemns you, not I.
    Your own lips testify against you.

⁷ “Were you the first person ever born?
    Were you born before the hills were made?
⁸ Were you listening at God’s secret council?
    Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
⁹ What do you know that we don’t?
    What do you understand that we do not?
¹⁰ On our side are aged, gray-haired men
    much older than your father!

¹¹ “Is God’s comfort too little for you?
    Is his gentle word not enough?
¹² What has taken away your reason?
    What has weakened your vision,^[a]
13 that you turn against God
    and say all these evil things?
¹⁴ Can any mortal be pure?
    Can anyone born of a woman be just?
¹⁵ Look, God does not even trust the angels.^[b]
    Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.
¹⁶ How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person
    with a thirst for wickedness!

¹⁷ “If you will listen, I will show you.
    I will answer you from my own experience.
¹⁸ And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men
    who have heard the same thing from their fathers—
¹⁹ from those to whom the land was given
    long before any foreigners arrived.

²⁰ “The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives.
    Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.
²¹ The sound of terror rings in their ears,
    and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.
²² They dare not go out into the darkness
    for fear they will be murdered.
²³ They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’^[c]
    They know their day of destruction is near.
²⁴ That dark day terrifies them.
    They live in distress and anguish,
    like a king preparing for battle.
²⁵ For they shake their fists at God,
    defying the Almighty.
²⁶ Holding their strong shields,
    they defiantly charge against him.

²⁷ “These wicked people are heavy and prosperous;
    their waists bulge with fat.
²⁸ But their cities will be ruined.
    They will live in abandoned houses
    that are ready to tumble down.
²⁹ Their riches will not last,
    and their wealth will not endure.
    Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.

³⁰ “They will not escape the darkness.
    The burning sun will wither their shoots,
    and the breath of God will destroy them.
³¹ Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches,
    for emptiness will be their only reward.
³² They will be cut down in the prime of life;
    their branches will never again be green.
³³ They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early,
    like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.
³⁴ For the godless are barren.
    Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.
³⁵ They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
    Their womb produces deceit.”