1“Call now! Is there anyone who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2For wrath kills the foolish person,
and anger slays the silly one.

3I myself have seen the fool taking root,
but suddenly I cursed his place of residence.

4His children are far from safety,
and they are crushed at the place where judgment is rendered,
nor is there anyone to deliver them.

5The hungry eat up his harvest,
and take it even from behind the thorns,
and the thirsty swallow up their fortune.

6For evil does not come up from the dust,
nor does trouble spring up from the ground,

7but people are born to trouble,
as surely as the sparks fly upward.

Blessings for the One Who Seeks God

8“But as for me, I would seek God,
and to God I would set forth my case.

9He does great and unsearchable things,
marvelous things without number;

10he gives rain on the earth,
and sends water on the fields;

11he sets the lowly on high,
that those who mourn are raised to safety.

12He frustrates the plans of the crafty
so that their hands cannot accomplish
what they had planned!

13He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
and the counsel of the cunning is brought to a quick end.

14They meet with darkness in the daytime,
and grope about in the noontime as if it were night.

15So he saves from the sword that comes from their mouth,
even the poor from the hand of the powerful.

16Thus the poor have hope,
and iniquity shuts its mouth.

17“Therefore, blessed is the man whom God corrects,
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

18For he wounds, but he also bandages;
he strikes, but his hands also heal.

19He will deliver you from six calamities;
yes, in seven no evil will touch you.

20In time of famine he will redeem you from death,
and in time of war from the power of the sword.

21You will be protected from malicious gossip,
and will not be afraid of the destruction when it comes.

22You will laugh at destruction and famine
and need not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

23For you will have a pact with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

24And you will know that your home
will be secure,
and when you inspect your domains,
you will not be missing anything.

25You will also know that your children will be numerous,
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.

26You will come to your grave in a full age,
As stacks of grain are harvested in their season.

27Look, we have investigated this, so it is true.
Hear it, and apply it for your own good.”