1 "Cry out, then! Is there anyone to answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 Surely resentment kills the fool, and envy puts the simple to death.
3 I myself have seen a fool putting down roots, but all at once I cursed his abode.
4 His sons are far from safety; they are trampled in the gate with none to rescue them.
5 His harvest the hungry devour, taking it even from among the thorns, and the thirsty gasp for their wealth.
6 For misfortune does not grow out of the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the soil;
7 rather, man is born for trouble, just as sparks fly high.
8 But I, I would seek God, and before God I would set my case,
9 who does great deeds past finding out, wonders that cannot be counted,
10 who sends rain upon the earth and pours water over the open fields,
11 setting the lowly in a high place, and those who mourn are raised up to safety.
12 He thwarts the schemes of the cunning, so that their hands cannot carry them out.
13 He traps the wise in their own cunning, and the plans of the wily are brought to a hasty end.
14 In daylight they meet with darkness; at noon they feel their way as though it were night.
15 So he saves the poor from the sword of their mouths, and from the hand of the strong.
16 So there is hope for the poor, and wickedness closes its mouth.
17 See, happy is the man whom God corrects; so do not spurn the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For he causes pain, and he bandages; he smites, and his hands make whole.
19 In six troubles he will rescue you; in seven, harm will not reach you.
20 In famine he ransoms you from death, and in battle from the power of the sword.
21 From the scourge of the tongue you will be hidden, and you will not be afraid of ruin when it comes.
22 At ruin and hunger you will laugh, and the wild beasts of the earth you will not fear.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is at peace; you will visit your homestead and find nothing amiss.
25 You will know that your seed is numerous, and your offspring like the grass of the land.
26 You will come to your grave in ripe old age, as a shock of grain goes up in its time.
27 See, this is what we have probed; so it stands. Listen to it and take it to heart for yourself."