1“Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.

3I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

4His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.

5The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

6For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

7Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.

8However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—

9the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.

10He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.

11He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.

12He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.

13He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

14They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.

15He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.

16So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.

17Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

18For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.

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 stroke of the sword.

21You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.

22You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts 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.

24You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.

25You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.

26You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.

27Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”