“What is mankind that you make so much of them, and that you pay attention to them?

“Do you have eyes of flesh, or do you see as a human being sees?

Are your days like the days of a mortal, or your years like the years of a mortal,

What is man that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

how much less a mortal man, who is but a maggot – a son of man, who is only a worm!”

Mankind does not know its place; it cannot be found in the land of the living.

Concerning my right, should I lie? My wound is incurable, although I am without transgression.’

All humanity has seen it; people gaze on it from afar.

“Therefore, blessed is the man whom God corrects, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

“Truly, I know that this is so. But how can a human be just before God?

as water wears away stones, and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy man’s hope.

How then can a human being be righteous before God? How can one born of a woman be pure?