Online Bible

2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge^aAnd fill his belly with the east wind?3 “Should he argue with a word that cannot be used,Or with speech which is not profitable?4 “Indeed, you annul reverent fearAnd cut off musing before God.5 “For ^ayour iniquity teaches your mouth,And you choose the tongue of ^bthe crafty.6 “Your ^aown mouth condemns you, and not I;And your own lips answer against you.

7 “Were you the first man to be born,Or ^awere you brought forth before the hills?8 “Do you hear the ^asecret counsel of God,And cut down wisdom only unto yourself?9 “^aWhat do you know that we do not know?What do you understand that is not with us?10 “Both the ^agray-haired and the aged are among us,Older than your father.11 “Are ^athe consolations of God too small for you,Even the ^bword spoken gently with you?12 “Why does your ^aheart take you away?And why do your eyes flash,13 That you should turn your spirit against GodAnd allow such words to go out of your mouth?14 “What is man, that ^ahe should be pure,Or ^bhe who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?15 “Behold, He puts no faith in His ^aholy ones,And the ^bheavens are not pure in His sight;16 How much less one who is ^aabominable and corrupt,Man, who ^bdrinks ¹unrighteousness like water!

17 “I will tell you, listen to me;And what I have beheld I will also recount;18 What wise men have told,And have not concealed from ^atheir fathers,19 To whom alone the land was given,And no stranger passed among them.20 “The wicked man writhes ^ain pain all his days,And ¹numbered are the years ^bstored up for the ruthless.21 “¹Sounds of ^adread are in his ears;^bWhile at peace the destroyer comes upon him.22 “He does not believe that he will ^areturn from darkness,And he is destined for ^bthe sword.23 “He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’He knows that a day of ^adarkness is ready at his hand.24 “Distress and anguish terrify him;They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,25 Because he has stretched out his hand against GodAnd ^amagnifies himself against ¹the Almighty.26 “He rushes ¹headlong at HimWith ²his massive shield.27 “For he has ^acovered his face with his fatAnd made his thighs heavy with flesh.28 “He has ^adwelt in desolate cities,In houses no one would inhabit,Which are destined to become ¹ruins.29 “He ^awill not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;And his grain will not stretch out over the land.30 “He will ^anot be able to ¹depart from darkness;The ^bflame will wither his shoots,And by ^cthe breath of His mouth he will depart.31 “Let him not ^abelieve in emptiness, deceiving himself;For emptiness will be his ¹reward,32 When ^ahis days are not yet fulfilled,And his palm ^bbranch is not green.33 “He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,And will ^acast off his flower like the olive tree.34 “For the company of ^athe godless is barren,And fire consumes ^bthe tents of ¹the corrupt.35 “They ^aconceive ¹trouble and give birth to wickedness,And their ²belly prepares deception.”