1Call out now — is there anyone to answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?
2For vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simpleton.
3I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
4His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, with no one to deliver.
5The hungry one eats his harvest, and takes it even out of the thorns; and the snare pants after their wealth.
6For evil does not come out of the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7For man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.
9who does great things beyond searching out, wonders beyond number.
10who gives rain upon the face of the earth and sends water upon the face of the fields.
11to set the lowly on high, and mourners are lifted to safety.
12He frustrates the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands cannot achieve success.
13He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the schemers is swept away.
14By day they meet with darkness, and grope at noon as in the night.
15But he saves from the sword out of their mouth, and the needy from the hand of the strong.
16So there is hope for the poor, and injustice shuts its mouth.
17Behold, blessed is the man whom God reproves; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18For he wounds, but he binds up; he strikes, but his hands heal.
19In six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven no evil will touch you.
20In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
21You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you will not fear destruction when it comes.
22At destruction and famine you will laugh, and you will not fear the wild beasts of the earth.
23For with the stones of the field will be your covenant, and the wild beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24And you will know that your tent is at peace, and you will inspect your dwelling and miss nothing.
25And you will know that your offspring are many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26You will come to the grave in ripe old age, as a sheaf comes up in its season.
27Behold, this we have searched out; so it is. Hear it, and know it for yourself.
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