1  Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?²

Do you judge the children of man uprightly?

2  No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;

your hands ^jdeal out violence on earth.

3  The wicked are ^kestranged from the womb;

they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

4  ^lThey have venom like the venom of a serpent,

like the deaf adder that stops its ear,

5  so that it ^mdoes not hear the voice of charmers

or of the cunning enchanter.

6  O God, ⁿbreak the teeth in their mouths;

tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!

7  Let them ^ovanish like water that runs away;

when he ^paims his arrows, let them be blunted.

8  Let them be like the snail ^othat dissolves into slime,

like ^qthe stillborn child who never sees the sun.

9  Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of ^rthorns,

whether green or ablaze, may he ^ssweep them away!³

10  ^tThe righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;

he will ^ubathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

11  Mankind will say, “Surely there is ^va reward for the righteous;

surely there is a God who ^wjudges on earth.”

2  “Who is this that ^rdarkens counsel by words ^swithout knowledge?

3  ^tDress for action¹ like a man;

I will question you, and you make it known to me.

4  “Where were you when I ^ulaid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

5  Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

6  On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

7  when the morning stars ^vsang together

and all ^wthe sons of God ^xshouted for joy?

8  “Or who ^yshut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb,

9  when I made clouds its garment

and ^zthick darkness its swaddling band,

10  and prescribed ^alimits for it

and set bars and doors,

11  and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your ^bproud waves be stayed’?

12  “Have you ^ccommanded the morning since your days began,

and caused the dawn to know its place,

13  that it might take hold of ^dthe skirts of the earth,

and the wicked be ^eshaken out of it?

14  It is changed like clay under the seal,

and its features stand out like a garment.

15  From the wicked their ^flight is withheld,

and ^gtheir uplifted arm is broken.

16  “Have you ^hentered into the springs of the sea,

or walked in the recesses of the deep?

17  Have ⁱthe gates of death been revealed to you,

or have you seen the gates of ^jdeep darkness?

18  Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?

Declare, if you know all this.

19  “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,

and where is the place of darkness,

20  that you may take it to its territory

and that you may discern ^kthe paths to its home?

21  You know, for ^lyou were born then,

and the number of your days is great!

22  “Have you entered ^mthe storehouses of the snow,

or have you seen ^mthe storehouses of the hail,

23  which I have reserved ⁿfor the time of trouble,

ⁿfor the day of battle and war?

24  What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,

or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

25  “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain

and ^oa way for the thunderbolt,

26  to bring rain on ^pa land where no man is,

on ^qthe desert in which there is no man,

27  to satisfy the waste and desolate land,

and to make the ground sprout with ^rgrass?

28  “Has ^sthe rain a father,

or who has begotten the drops of dew?

29  From whose womb did ^tthe ice come forth,

and who has given birth to ^tthe frost of heaven?

30  The waters become hard like stone,

and the face of the deep is ^ufrozen.

31  “Can you bind the chains of ^vthe Pleiades

or loose the cords of ^vOrion?

32  Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth² in their season,

or can you guide ^vthe Bear with its children?

33  Do you know ^wthe ordinances of the heavens?

Can you establish their rule on the earth?

34  “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,

that ^xa flood of waters may cover you?

35  Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go

and say to you, ‘Here we are’?

36  Who has ^yput wisdom in ^zthe inward parts³

or given understanding to the mind?⁴

37  Who can number the clouds by wisdom?

Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,

38  when the dust runs into a mass

and ^athe clods stick fast together?

39  “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,

or ^bsatisfy the appetite of the young lions,

40  when they crouch in their ^cdens

or lie in wait ^din their thicket?

41  Who provides for ^ethe raven its prey,

when its young ones cry to God for help,

and wander about for lack of food?