14. “How then can I answer Him,And choose my words to reason with Him?
15. For though I were righteous, I could not answer Him;I would beg mercy of my Judge.
16. If I called and He answered me,I would not believe that He was listening to my voice.
17. For He crushes me with a tempest,And multiplies my wounds without cause.
18. He will not allow me to catch my breath,But fills me with bitterness.
19. If it is a matter of strength, indeed He is strong;And if of justice, who will appoint my day in court?
20. Though I were righteous, my own mouth would condemn me;Though I were blameless, it would prove me perverse.
21. “I am blameless, yet I do not know myself;I despise my life.
22. It is all one thing;Therefore I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the wicked.’
23. If the scourge slays suddenly,He laughs at the plight of the innocent.
24. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked.He covers the faces of its judges.If it is not He, who else could it be?
25. “Now my days are swifter than a runner;They flee away, they see no good.
26. They pass by like swift ships,Like an eagle swooping on its prey.
27. If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,I will put off my sad face and wear a smile,’
28. I am afraid of all my sufferings;I know that You will not hold me innocent.
29. If I am condemned,Why then do I labor in vain?