2  “Dominion and fear are with God;¹

he makes peace in his high heaven.

3  Is there any number to his ^parmies?

Upon whom does his ^qlight not arise?

4  How then can man be ^rin the right before God?

How can he who is ^sborn of woman be ^tpure?

5  Behold, even the moon is not bright,

and the stars are not pure in his eyes;

6  ^uhow much less man, who is ^va maggot,

and ^wthe son of man, who is a worm!”

2  “How you have ^xhelped him who has no power!

How you have saved ^ythe arm that has no strength!

3  How you have ^zcounseled him who has no wisdom,

and plentifully declared sound knowledge!

4  With whose help have you uttered words,

and whose breath ^ahas come out from you?

5  The ^bdead tremble

under the waters and their inhabitants.

6  Sheol is ^cnaked before God,²

and ^dAbaddon has no covering.

7  He ^estretches out the north over ^fthe void

and hangs the earth on nothing.

8  He ^gbinds up the waters in his thick clouds,

and the cloud is not split open under them.

9  He covers the face of the full moon³

and ^hspreads over it his cloud.

10  He has inscribed ⁱa circle on the face of the waters

at the boundary between light and darkness.

11  ^jThe pillars of heaven tremble

and are astounded at his ^krebuke.

12  By his power he ^lstilled the sea;

by his understanding he shattered ^mRahab.

13  ⁿBy his wind the heavens were made fair;

his hand pierced ^othe fleeing serpent.

14  Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ^pways,

and how small ^qa whisper do we hear of him!

But the thunder of his power who can understand?”

2  “As God lives, who has ^staken away my right,

and the Almighty, who has ^tmade my soul bitter,

3  as long as my breath is in me,

and ^uthe spirit of God is in my nostrils,

4  my lips will not speak ^vfalsehood,

and my tongue will not utter ^vdeceit.

5  Far be it from me to say that you are right;

till I die I will not put away my ^wintegrity from me.

6  I ^xhold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;

my heart does not ^yreproach me for any of my days.

7  “Let my enemy be as the wicked,

and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.

8  ^zFor what is the hope of the godless ^awhen God cuts him off,

when God takes away his life?

9  ^bWill God hear his cry

when distress comes upon him?

10  Will he ^ctake delight in the Almighty?

Will he call upon God at all times?

11  I will teach you concerning the hand of God;

^dwhat is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

12  Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;

why then have you become altogether vain?

13  ^e“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,

and the heritage that ^foppressors receive from the Almighty:

14  If his ^gchildren are multiplied, it is for ^hthe sword,

and his descendants have not enough bread.

15  Those who survive him the pestilence buries,

and his ⁱwidows do not weep.

16  Though he ^jheap up silver like dust,

and pile up clothing like clay,

17  he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,

and ^kthe innocent will divide the silver.

18  He builds his ^lhouse like a moth’s,

like ^ma booth that ⁿa watchman makes.

19  He goes to bed rich, but will ^odo so no more;

he opens his eyes, and ^phis wealth is gone.

20  ^qTerrors overtake him like ^ra flood;

in the night a whirlwind ^scarries him off.

21  ^tThe east wind lifts him up and he is gone;

it ^usweeps him out of his place.

22  It⁴ hurls at him ^vwithout pity;

he flees from its⁵ power in headlong flight.

23  It ^wclaps its hands at him

and ^xhisses at him from its place.

1  ^qVindicate me, O Lord,

for I have ^rwalked in my integrity,

and I have ^strusted in the Lord without wavering.

2  ^tProve me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and ^umy mind.¹

3  For your ^vsteadfast love is before my eyes,

and I ^wwalk in your ^vfaithfulness.

4  I do not ^xsit with men of ^yfalsehood,

nor do I consort with hypocrites.

5  I ^zhate the assembly of evildoers,

and I will not sit with the wicked.

6  I ^awash my hands in innocence

and go around your altar, O Lord,

7  proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,

and telling all your ^bwondrous deeds.

8  O Lord, I ^clove the habitation of your house

and the place where your glory dwells.

9  ^dDo not sweep my soul away with sinners,

nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

10  in whose hands are evil devices,

and whose right hands are full of ^ebribes.

11  But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;

redeem me, and be gracious to me.

12  My foot stands on ^flevel ground;

in ^gthe great assembly I will bless the Lord.