1Call now — is there anyone to answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? 2For vexation kills the fool, and jealousy puts the simple to death. 3I myself have seen a fool taking root, and all at once I cursed his home. 4His children are far from safety, crushed in the gate, with no one to save them. 5What he harvests the hungry eat, taking it even from among the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth. 6For iniquity does not come out of the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. 7But a man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
I would lay my case before God
8As for me, I would seek out God, and lay my case before God: 9he does great things beyond fathoming, wonders beyond number; 10he gives rain over the face of the earth and sends water over the open fields; 11he sets the lowly on high, and mourners are lifted into safety; 12he frustrates the schemes of the crafty, so their hands achieve nothing sound; 13he catches the wise in their own cunning, and the counsel of the twisted is swept off headlong. 14By day they run into darkness; at noon they grope as though it were night. 15He saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, and from the hand of the strong. 16So the poor have hope, and injustice closes her mouth. 17Look, how fortunate the mortal whom Eloah corrects! So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 18For he wounds, and he binds up; he strikes, and his own hands heal. 19From six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven no harm will touch you. 20In famine he will ransom you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 21You will be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and you will not fear ruin when it comes. 22At ruin and at hunger you will laugh, and you will not fear the wild beasts of the earth. 23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild beasts will be at peace with you. 24You will know that your tent is safe; you will look over your fold and miss nothing. 25You will know that your offspring are many, your descendants like the grass of the earth. 26You will come to the grave in ripe old age, as a sheaf is brought up in its season. 27See, we have searched this out — it is so. Hear it, and know it for yourself.
