Study Desk

But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last, and where is he?

You forever overpower him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away.

If his sons receive honor, he does not know it; if they are brought low, he is unaware.

He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself."

"Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.

He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.

For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,

rushing headlong at Him with his thick, studded shield.

Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,

He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land.

He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away.

Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.

It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.

His anger has torn me and hated me; He gnashes His teeth at me. My adversary pierces me with His eyes.

I was at ease, but He shattered me; He seized me by the neck and crushed me. He has set me up as His target;

His archers surround me. He pierces my kidneys without mercy and spills my gall on the ground.

Oh, that a man might plead with God as he pleads with his neighbor!