1Call now, is there one answering you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?
2For vexation kills the fool, and envy slays the simple one.
3I myself have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4His sons are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, with none to deliver.
5Whose harvest the hungry one eats, and takes it even out of the thorns, and the snare pants after their wealth.
6For affliction does not come forth from the dust (aphar), and trouble does not sprout from the ground (adamah).
7For man (adam) is born to trouble, and the sons of the flame raise high in flight.
8But as for me, I would seek to God, and to God I would set my cause;
9who does great things and beyond searching, wonders until there is no number;
10who gives rain upon the face of the earth, and sends waters upon the face of the fields;
11to set the lowly on high, and the mourning are lifted up to safety.
12Who frustrates the plans of the crafty, so that their hands do not accomplish sound wisdom.
13Who catches the wise in their craftiness, and the counsel of the twisted is rushed headlong.
14By day they meet darkness, and as in the night they grope at noon.
15And he saves (yasha) from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the strong, the needy one.
16And there is hope for the poor, and injustice shuts her mouth.
17Behold, blessed is the man whom God reproves; so the chastening of Shaddai do not reject.
18For he himself causes pain, and binds up; he wounds, and his hands heal.
19In six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven no evil shall touch you.
20In famine he redeems you from death, and in war from the hands of the sword.
21In the scourge of the tongue you shall be hidden, and you shall not fear destruction when it comes.
22At destruction and at famine you shall laugh, and of the living thing (chai) of the earth you shall not be afraid.
23For with the stones of the field is your covenant (berit), and the living thing (chai) of the field is at peace with you.
24And you shall know that your tent is at peace, and you shall visit your habitation and not miss anything.
25And you shall know that your seed is many, and your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26You shall come in ripe age to the grave, like a sheaf going up in its season.
27Behold this, we have searched it out, so it is; hear it, and you—know it for yourself.