1Call out if you please. Will anyone answer you?

Which of the holy ones a will you turn to?

2For anger kills a fool,

and jealousy slays the gullible. b

3I have seen a fool taking root,

but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.

4His children are far from safety.

They are crushed at the city ^•gate, c

with no one to rescue them.

5The hungry consume his harvest,

even taking it out of the thorns. d

The thirsty e pant for his children’s wealth.

6For distress does not grow out of the soil,

and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

7But mankind is born for trouble f

as surely as sparks fly upward.

8However, if I were you, I would appeal to God

and would present my case to Him. g

9He does great h and unsearchable things,

wonders without number. i

10He gives rain to the earth

and sends water to the fields. j

11He sets the lowly on high,

and mourners are lifted to safety. k

12He frustrates the schemes of the crafty

so that they l achieve no success.

13He traps the wise in their craftiness

so that the plans of the deceptive

are quickly brought to an end. m

14They encounter darkness by day,

and they grope at noon

as if it were night. n

15He saves the needy from their sharp words o  p

and from the clutches of the powerful.

16So the poor have hope,

and injustice shuts its mouth. q

17See how happy the man is God corrects;

so do not reject the discipline of the ^•Almighty.

18For He crushes but also binds up;

He strikes, but His hands also heal. r

19He will rescue you from six calamities;

no harm will touch you in seven.

20In famine He will redeem you from death,

and in battle, from the power of the sword. s

21You will be safe from slander t

and not fear destruction when it comes. u

22You will laugh at destruction and hunger

and not fear the animals of the earth.

23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,

and the wild animals will be at peace with you. v

24You will know that your tent is secure, w

and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home.

25You will also know that your offspring will be many

and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

26You will approach the grave x in full vigor, y

as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.

27We have investigated this, and it is true!

Hear it and understand it for yourself.