1 »Cry out! Is there anyone to answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 »To be sure anger kills a stubborn fool. And jealousy murders a gullible person.

3 »I have seen a stubborn fool take root and I quickly cursed his house.

4 »His children are far from help. They are crushed at the court of justice at the city gate. No one is there to rescue them.

5 »Hungry people eat what a stubborn fool gathers. They take it even from among the thorns. Thirsty people pant after his wealth.

6 »Affliction does not come from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

7 »A person is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly up from a fire.

8 »As for me, I would seek God's help and present my case to him.

9 »He does great things that we cannot understand and miracles that we cannot count.

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

11 »He sets on high the lowly people. He lifts those who mourn to safety.

12 »He keeps shrewd craftycunning people from carrying out their plans so that they cannot do anything successfully.

13 »He catches the wise with their own craftiness. The plans of schemers are quickly halted.

14 »They meet in darkness in the daytime! In bright sunlight they grope as if it were night.

15 »He saves people from the sword slander of their mouth. He saves the needy from the power of the mighty.

16 »The poor have hope when wrongdoing shuts its mouth.

17 »Blessed is the person whom God corrects. Do not despise discipline from the Almighty.

18 »God inflicts wounds and he bandages. He strikes but his hands make you well.

19 »He will keep you safe from six troubles, and when the seventh one comes, no harm will touch you:

20 »In famine he will save you from death, and in war he will save you from the sword.

21 »You will be protected from the sharp tongue and you will not be afraid when destruction comes.

22 »You will laugh at destruction and starvation. You will not be afraid of wild beasts.

23 »You will have a binding agreement with the stones in the field, and wild animals will be at peace with you.

24 You will know peace in your tent. You will inspect your house and find nothing missing.

25 »You will find that your children are many and your descendants are like the grass of the earth.

26 »You will come to your grave at a very old age like a stack of hay in its season.

27 »We have studied all of this thoroughly! This is the way it is. Listen to it, and learn it for yourself.«