² “As God lives, ^(A)who has taken away my justice,
And the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
³ As long as my breath is in me,
And the breath of God in my nostrils,
⁴ My lips will not speak wickedness,
Nor my tongue utter deceit.
⁵ Far be it from me
That I should say you are right;
Till I die ^(B)I will not put away my integrity from me.
⁶ My righteousness I ^(C)hold fast, and will not let it go;
^(D)My heart shall not ^[a]reproach me as long as I live.

⁷ “May my enemy be like the wicked,
And he who rises up against me like the unrighteous.
^8 (E)For what is the hope of the hypocrite,
Though he may gain much,
If God takes away his life?
^9 (F)Will God hear his cry
When trouble comes upon him?
^10 (G)Will he delight himself in the Almighty?
Will he always call on God?

¹¹ “I will teach you ^[b]about the hand of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
¹² Surely all of you have seen it;
Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?

¹³ “This^(H) is the portion of a wicked man with God,
And the heritage of oppressors, received from the Almighty:
^14 (I)If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword;
And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.
¹⁵ Those who survive him shall be buried in death,
And ^(J)their^[c] widows shall not weep,
¹⁶ Though he heaps up silver like dust,
And piles up clothing like clay—
¹⁷ He may pile it up, but ^(K)the just will wear it,
And the innocent will divide the silver.
¹⁸ He builds his house like a ^[d]moth,
^(L)Like a ^[e]booth which a watchman makes.
¹⁹ The rich man will lie down,
^[f]But not be gathered up;
He opens his eyes,
And he is ^(M)no more.
^20 (N)Terrors overtake him like a flood;
A tempest steals him away in the night.
²¹ The east wind carries him away, and he is gone;
It sweeps him out of his place.
²² It hurls against him and does not ^(O)spare;
He flees desperately from its ^[g]power.
²³ Men shall clap their hands at him,
And shall hiss him out of his place.