1“Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2Surely vexation kills the fool,
and jealousy slays the simple.
3I have seen the fool taking root,
but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
4His children are far from safety;
they are crushed in the gate,
and there is no one to deliver them.
5The hungry eat his harvest,
and he takes it even out of thorns,^a
and the thirsty pant^b after his^c wealth.
6For affliction does not come from the dust,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
7but man is born to trouble
as the sparks fly upward.

8“As for me, I would seek God,
and to God would I commit my cause,
9who does great things and unsearchable,
marvelous things without number:
10he gives rain on the earth
and sends waters on the fields;
11he sets on high those who are lowly,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
14They meet with darkness in the daytime
and grope at noonday as in the night.
15But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth
and from the hand of the mighty.
16So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts her mouth.

17“Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;
therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
18For he wounds, but he binds up;
he shatters, but his hands heal.
19He will deliver you from six troubles;
in seven no evil^d shall touch you.
20In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in war from the power of the sword.
21You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue,
and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
22At destruction and famine you shall laugh,
and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.
23For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,
and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24You shall know that your tent is at peace,
and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25You shall know also that your offspring shall be many,
and your descendants as the grass of the earth.
26You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,
like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
27Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.
Hear, and know it for your good.”^e