16 To humans belong the plans of the heart,
but from the Lord comes the proper answer of the tongue.

² All a person’s ways seem pure to them,
but motives are weighed by the Lord.

³ Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and he will establish your plans.

⁴ The Lord works out everything to its proper end −
even the wicked for a day of disaster.

⁵ The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

⁶ Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
through the fear of the Lord evil is avoided.

⁷ When the Lord takes pleasure in anyone’s way,
he causes their enemies to make peace with them.

⁸ Better a little with righteousness
than much gain with injustice.

⁹ In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps.

¹⁰ The lips of a king speak as an oracle,
and his mouth does not betray justice.

¹¹ Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord;
all the weights in the bag are of his making.

¹² Kings detest wrongdoing,
for a throne is established through righteousness.

¹³ Kings take pleasure in honest lips;
they value the one who speaks what is right.

¹⁴ A king’s wrath is a messenger of death,
but the wise will appease it.

¹⁵ When a king’s face brightens, it means life;
his favor is like a rain cloud in spring.

¹⁶ How much better to get wisdom than gold,
to get insight rather than silver!

¹⁷ The highway of the upright avoids evil;
those who guard their ways preserve their lives.

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹ Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed
than to share plunder with the proud.

²⁰ Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,^[a]
and blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.

²¹ The wise in heart are called discerning,
and gracious words promote instruction.^[b]

²² Prudence is a fountain of life to the prudent,
but folly brings punishment to fools.

²³ The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent,
and their lips promote instruction.^[c]

²⁴ Gracious words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

²⁵ There is a way that appears to be right,
but in the end it leads to death.

²⁶ The appetite of laborers works for them;
their hunger drives them on.

²⁷ A scoundrel plots evil,
and on their lips it is like a scorching fire.

²⁸ A perverse person stirs up conflict,
and a gossip separates close friends.

²⁹ A violent person entices their neighbor
and leads them down a path that is not good.

³⁰ Whoever winks with their eye is plotting perversity;
whoever purses their lips is bent on evil.

³¹ Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained in the way of righteousness.

³² Better a patient person than a warrior,
one with self-control than one who takes a city.

³³ The lot is cast into the lap,
but its every decision is from the Lord.

² "Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him?
Let him who accuses God answer him!"

⁴ "I am unworthy −how can I reply to you?
I put my hand over my mouth.
⁵ I spoke once, but I have no answer −
twice, but I will say no more."

⁷ "Brace yourself like a man;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

⁸ "Would you discredit my justice?
Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
⁹ Do you have an arm like God’s,
and can your voice thunder like his?
¹⁰ Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,
and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
¹¹ Unleash the fury of your wrath,
look at all who are proud and bring them low,
¹² look at all who are proud and humble them,
crush the wicked where they stand.
¹³ Bury them all in the dust together;
shroud their faces in the grave.
¹⁴ Then I myself will admit to you
that your own right hand can save you.

¹⁵ "Look at Behemoth,
which I made along with you
and which feeds on grass like an ox.
¹⁶ What strength it has in its loins,
what power in the muscles of its belly!
¹⁷ Its tail sways like a cedar;
the sinews of its thighs are close-knit.
¹⁸ Its bones are tubes of bronze,
its limbs like rods of iron.
¹⁹ It ranks first among the works of God,
yet its Maker can approach it with his sword.
²⁰ The hills bring it their produce,
and all the wild animals play nearby.
²¹ Under the lotus plants it lies,
hidden among the reeds in the marsh.
²² The lotuses conceal it in their shadow;
the poplars by the stream surround it.
²³ A raging river does not alarm it;
it is secure, though the Jordan should surge against its mouth.
²⁴ Can anyone capture it by the eyes,
or trap it and pierce its nose?

41 ^[a]"Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook
or tie down its tongue with a rope?
² Can you put a cord through its nose
or pierce its jaw with a hook?
³ Will it keep begging you for mercy?
Will it speak to you with gentle words?
⁴ Will it make an agreement with you
for you to take it as your slave for life?
⁵ Can you make a pet of it like a bird
or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
⁶ Will traders barter for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
⁷ Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?
⁸ If you lay a hand on it,
you will remember the struggle and never do it again!
⁹ Any hope of subduing it is false;
the mere sight of it is overpowering.
¹⁰ No one is fierce enough to rouse it.
Who then is able to stand against me?
¹¹ Who has a claim against me that I must pay?
Everything under heaven belongs to me.

¹² "I will not fail to speak of Leviathan’s limbs,
its strength and its graceful form.
¹³ Who can strip off its outer coat?
Who can penetrate its double coat of armor^[b]?
¹⁴ Who dares open the doors of its mouth,
ringed about with fearsome teeth?
¹⁵ Its back has^[c] rows of shields
tightly sealed together;
¹⁶ each is so close to the next
that no air can pass between.
¹⁷ They are joined fast to one another;
they cling together and cannot be parted.
¹⁸ Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the rays of dawn.
¹⁹ Flames stream from its mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
²⁰ Smoke pours from its nostrils
as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
²¹ Its breath sets coals ablaze,
and flames dart from its mouth.
²² Strength resides in its neck;
dismay goes before it.
²³ The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm and immovable.
²⁴ Its chest is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.
²⁵ When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;
they retreat before its thrashing.
²⁶ The sword that reaches it has no effect,
nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.
²⁷ Iron it treats like straw
and bronze like rotten wood.
²⁸ Arrows do not make it flee;
slingstones are like chaff to it.
²⁹ A club seems to it but a piece of straw;
it laughs at the rattling of the lance.
³⁰ Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.
³¹ It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.
³² It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
one would think the deep had white hair.
³³ Nothing on earth is its equal −
a creature without fear.
³⁴ It looks down on all that are haughty;
it is king over all that are proud. "

² "I know that you can do all things;
no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
³ You asked, ’Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me to know.

⁴ "You said, ’Listen now, and I will speak;
I will question you,
and you shall answer me.’
⁵ My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
⁶ Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes."