⁸ “Surely you have spoken ^[b]in my hearing,
And I have heard the sound of your words, saying,
⁹ ‘I^(D) am pure, without transgression;
I am innocent, and there is no iniquity in me.
¹⁰ Yet He finds occasions against me,
^(E)He counts me as His enemy;
^11 (F)He puts my feet in the stocks,
He watches all my paths.’

¹² “Look, in this you are not righteous.
I will answer you,
For God is greater than man.
¹³ Why do you ^(G)contend with Him?
For He does not give an accounting of any of His words.
^14 (H)For God may speak in one way, or in another,
Yet man does not perceive it.
^15 (I)In a dream, in a vision of the night,
When deep sleep falls upon men,
While slumbering on their beds,
^16 (J)Then He opens the ears of men,
And seals their instruction.
¹⁷ In order to turn man from his deed,
And conceal pride from man,
¹⁸ He keeps back his soul from the Pit,
And his life from ^[c]perishing by the sword.

¹⁹ “Man is also chastened with pain on his ^(K)bed,
And with strong pain in many of his bones,
^20 (L)So that his life abhors ^(M)bread,
And his soul ^[d]succulent food.
²¹ His flesh wastes away from sight,
And his bones stick out which once were not seen.
²² Yes, his soul draws near the Pit,
And his life to the executioners.

²³ “If there is a messenger for him,
A mediator, one among a thousand,
To show man His uprightness,
²⁴ Then He is gracious to him, and says,
‘Deliver him from going down to the Pit;
I have found ^[e]a ransom’;
²⁵ His flesh shall be young like a child’s,
He shall return to the days of his youth.
²⁶ He shall pray to God, and He will delight in him,
He shall see His face with joy,
For He restores to man His righteousness.
²⁷ Then he looks at men and ^(N)says,
‘I have sinned, and perverted what was right,
And it ^(O)did not profit me.’
²⁸ He will ^(P)redeem ^[f]his soul from going down to the Pit,
And his life shall see the light.

²⁹ “Behold, God works all these things,
Twice, in fact, three times with a man,
^30 (Q)To bring back his soul from the Pit,
That he may be enlightened with the light of life.

³¹ “Give ear, Job, listen to me;
Hold your peace, and I will speak.
³² If you have anything to say, answer me;
Speak, for I desire to justify you.
³³ If not, ^(R)listen to me;
^[g]Hold your peace, and I will teach you wisdom.”