Online Bible

2 “Shall a multitude of words not be answered?And should a ^atalkative man making such a long-winded defense be acquitted?3 “Should your boasts and babble silence men?And shall you ^ascoff and no one put you to shame?4 “For ^ayou have said, ‘My teaching (doctrine) that God knowingly afflicts the righteous is pure,And ^bI am innocent in your eyes.’ Job 10:75 “But oh, that God would speak,And open His lips to speak against you,6 And that He would show you the secrets of wisdom!For ^asound wisdom ¹has two sides.Know therefore that God forgets a part of ^byour wickedness and guilt.

7 “^aCan you discover the depths of God?Can you by searching discover the limits of the Almighty ascend to His heights, extend to His widths, and comprehend His infinite perfection?8 “His wisdom is as ^ahigh as the heights of heaven. What can you do?It is deeper than ^bSheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) . What can you know?9 “It is longer in measure and scope than the earth,And broader than the sea.10 “If God passes by or arrests,Or calls an assembly of judgment, ^awho can restrain Him?If He is against a man, who can call Him to account for it?11 “For ^aHe recognizes and knows false and worthless men,And He ^bsees wickedness, will He not consider it?12 “But ^aa hollow (empty-headed) man will become intelligent and wiseOnly when the ¹^bcolt of a wild donkey is born as a man.

13 “^aIf you direct your ^bheart on the right pathAnd ^cstretch out your hands to Him,14 If sin is in your hand, put it ^afar away from you,And do not let wrongdoing dwell in your tents;15 Then, indeed, you could ^alift up your face to Him without moral defect,And you would be firmly established and secure and ^bnot fear.16 “For you would ^aforget your trouble;You would remember it as ^bwaters that have passed by.17 “And your ¹life would be ^abrighter than the noonday;Darkness then would be like the morning.18 “Then you would trust with confidence, because there is hope;You would look around you and rest securely.19 “You would ^alie down with no one to frighten you,And many would ^bentreat and seek your favor.20 “But the ^aeyes of the wicked will fail,And they will ^bnot escape the justice of God;And their ^chope is ^dto breathe their last and die.”