1Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn ? 2For wrath killeth the foolish man , and envy 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 robber swalloweth up their substance . 6Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust , neither doth trouble spring out of the ground ; 7Yet man is born unto trouble , as the sparks fly upward .
The Nature of God’s Justice
8I would seek unto God , and unto God would I commit my cause : 9Which doeth great things and unsearchable ; marvellous things without number : 10Who giveth rain upon the earth , and sendeth waters upon the fields : 11To set up on high those that be low ; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety . 12He disappointeth 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 froward is carried headlong . 14They meet with darkness in the daytime , and grope in the noonday as in the night . 15But he saveth the poor from the sword , from their mouth , and 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 shall deliver thee in six troubles : yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 20In famine he shall 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 famine 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 tabernacle shall be in peace ; and thou shalt visit thy habitation , and shalt not sin . 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 corn cometh in in his season . 27Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.