1 “ Call now; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

Pray, call, is there any to answer thee? And unto which of the holy ones dost thou turn?

2 F or resentment kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple.

For provocation slayeth the perverse, And envy putteth to death the simple,

3 I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation.

I -- I have seen the perverse taking root, And I mark his habitation straightway,

4 H is children are far from safety. They are crushed in the gate. Neither is there any to deliver them,

Far are his sons from safety, And they are bruised in the gate, And there is no deliverer.

5 w hose harvest the hungry eats up, and take it even out of the thorns. The snare gapes for their substance.

Whose harvest the hungry doth eat, And even from the thorns taketh it, And the designing swallowed their wealth.

6 F or affliction doesn’t come out of the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground;

For sorrow cometh not forth from the dust, Nor from the ground springeth up misery.

7 b ut man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

For man to misery is born, And the sparks go high to fly.

8 “ But as for me, I would seek God. I would commit my cause to God,

Yet I -- I inquire for God, And for God I give my word,

9 w ho does great things that can’t be fathomed, marvelous things without number;

Doing great things, and there is no searching. Wonderful, till there is no numbering.

10 w ho gives rain on the earth, and sends waters on the fields;

Who is giving rain on the face of the land, And is sending waters on the out-places.

11 s o that he sets up on high those who are low, those who mourn are exalted to safety.

To set the low on a high place, And the mourners have been high safety.

12 H e frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands can’t perform their enterprise.

Making void thoughts of the subtile, And their hands do not execute wisdom.

13 H e takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.

Capturing the wise in their subtilty, And the counsel of wrestling ones was hastened,

14 T hey meet with darkness in the day time, and grope at noonday as in the night.

By day they meet darkness, And as night -- they grope at noon.

15 B ut he saves from the sword of their mouth, even the needy from the hand of the mighty.

And He saveth the wasted from their mouth, And from a strong hand the needy,

16 S o the poor has hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

And there is hope to the poor, And perverseness hath shut her mouth.

17 “ Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

Lo, the happiness of mortal man, God doth reprove him: And the chastisement of the Mighty despise not,

18 F or he wounds, and binds up. He injures, and his hands make whole.

For He doth pain, and He bindeth up, He smiteth, and His hands heal.

19 H e will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.

In six distresses He delivereth thee, And in seven evil striketh not on thee.

20 I n famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword.

In famine He hath redeemed thee from death, And in battle from the hands of the sword.

21 Y ou shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes.

When the tongue scourgeth thou art hid, And thou art not afraid of destruction, When it cometh.

22 A t destruction and famine you shall laugh, neither shall you be afraid of the animals of the earth.

At destruction and at hunger thou mockest, And of the beast of the earth, Thou art not afraid.

23 F or you shall be allied with the stones of the field. The animals of the field shall be at peace with you.

(For with sons of the field thy covenant, And the beast of the field Hath been at peace with thee.)

24 Y ou shall know that your tent is in peace. You shall visit your fold, and shall miss nothing.

And thou hast known that thy tent peace, And inspected thy habitation, and errest not,

25 Y ou shall know also that your offspring shall be great, Your offspring as the grass of the earth.

And hast known that numerous Thy seed, And thine offspring as the herb of the earth;

26 Y ou shall come to your grave in a full age, like a shock of grain comes in its season.

Thou comest in full age unto the grave, As the going up of a stalk in its season.

27 L ook this, we have searched it, so it is. Hear it, and know it for your good.”

Lo, this -- we searched it out -- it right, hearken; And thou, know for thyself!