Verse 1
Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?
Verse 2
For vexation killeth the foolish man, And jealousy slayeth the silly one.
Verse 3
I have seen the foolish taking root: But suddenly I cursed his habitation.
Verse 4
His children are far from safety, And they are crushed in the gate, Neither is there any to deliver them:
Verse 5
Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, And taketh it even out of the thorns; And the snare gapeth for their substance.
Verse 6
For affliction cometh not forth from the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
Verse 7
But man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward.
Verse 8
But as for me, I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause;
Verse 9
Who doeth great things and unsearchable, Marvellous things without number:
Verse 10
Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth waters upon the fields;
Verse 11
So that he setteth up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety.
Verse 12
He frustrateth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
Verse 13
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
Verse 14
They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night.
Verse 15
But he saveth from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
Verse 16
So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
Verse 17
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
Verse 18
For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and his hands make whole.
Verse 19
He will deliver thee in six troubles; Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
Verse 20
In famine he will redeem thee from death; And in war from the power of the sword.
Verse 21
Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue; Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
Verse 22
At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh; Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
Verse 23
For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
Verse 24
And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; And thou shalt visit thy fold, and shalt miss nothing.
Verse 25
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
Verse 26
Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, Like as a shock of grain cometh in in its season.
Verse 27
Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; Hear it, and know thou it for thy good.