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