then let thorns sprout up in place of wheat, and in place of barley, weeds!” The words of Job are ended.

Below his roots dry up, and his branches wither above.

“The dead tremble – those beneath the waters and all that live in them.

They brayed like animals among the bushes and were huddled together under the nettles.

They come in as through a wide breach; amid the crash they come rolling in.

He strikes them for their wickedness, in a place where people can see,

Do not long for the cover of night to drag people away from their homes.

Under the lotus trees it lies, in the secrecy of the reeds and the marsh.

God does not restrain his anger; under him the helpers of Rahab lie crushed.

“If evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue,

He locks the waters in his clouds, and the clouds do not burst with the weight of them.

The earth, from which food comes, is overturned below as though by fire;

Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.

He shatters the great without inquiry, and sets up others in their place.

Under the whole heaven he lets it go, even his lightning to the far corners of the earth.

Look at every proud man and abase him; crush the wicked on the spot!

Its underparts are the sharp points of potsherds, it leaves its mark in the mud like a threshing sledge.

For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens.

And surely, he drew you from the mouth of distress, to a wide place, unrestricted, and to the comfort of your table filled with rich food.

(Who has confronted me that I should repay? Everything under heaven belongs to me!)