| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1“Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? | 1“Cry for help, but will anyone answer you? Which of the angels will help you? |
| 2Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple. | 2Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple. |
| 3I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling. | 3I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster. |
| 4His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them. | 4Their children are abandoned far from help; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them. |
| 5The hungry eat his harvest, and he takes it even out of thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth. | 5The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant after their wealth. |
| 6For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground, | 6But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth. |
| 7but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. | 7People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire. |
| 8“As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, | 8“If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him. |
| 9who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: | 9He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles. |
| 10he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; | 10He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields. |
| 11he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. | 11He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer. |
| 12He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. | 12He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed. |
| 13He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. | 13He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted. |
| 14They meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night. | 14They find it is dark in the daytime, and they grope at noon as if it were night. |
| 15But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty. | 15He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong, and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful. |
| 16So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth. | 16And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut. |
| 17“Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. | 17“But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin. |
| 18For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. | 18For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal. |
| 19He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil shall touch you. | 19From six disasters he will rescue you; even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil. |
| 20In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. | 20He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war. |
| 21You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes. | 21You will be safe from slander and have no fear when destruction comes. |
| 22At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the beasts of the earth. | 22You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you. |
| 23For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you. | 23You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you. |
| 24You shall know that your tent is at peace, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing. | 24You will know that your home is safe. When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing. |
| 25You shall know also that your offspring shall be many, and your descendants as the grass of the earth. | 25You will have many children; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass! |
| 26You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season. | 26You will go to the grave at a ripe old age, like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time! |
| 27Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good.” | 27“We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.” |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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