Call now! Is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

Surely vexation slays the fool, And jealousy kills the simpleton.

I have seen the fool taking root, But suddenly I cursed his habitation.

His children are far from safety, And they are crushed in the gate; and there is no one to deliver them.

The hungry eat his harvest And even take it out from the thorns, And the thirsty pant after his wealth.

For evil does not come forth from the dust, Nor does trouble spring forth from the ground.

But man is born unto trouble, Just as sparks fly upward.

But as for me, I would seek after God, And I would commit my cause to God,

Who does great things that cannot be searched, Wonderful deeds that cannot be numbered;

Who gives rain upon the surface of the earth And sends water upon the surface of the fields;

Who sets on high those who are lowly And puts those who mourn safely above all.

He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands achieve no enterprise.

He seizes the wise in their own craftiness, And the counsel of the wily is brought to a sudden end.

By day they encounter darkness, And at noon they grope about as in the night.

But He saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, From the hand of the strong.

Thus the poor have hope, And Injustice stops her mouth.

Indeed, blessed is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not reject the chastening of the Almighty.

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

In six troubles He will deliver you; Indeed in seven no evil will touch you.

In famine He will redeem you from death, And in battle, from the power of the sword.

From the scourge of the tongue you will be hidden, And you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

At destruction and at famine you will laugh, And you will not be afraid of the animals of the earth.

For you will be in an alliance with the stones of the field, And the animals of the field will be at peace with you.

And you will know that your tent is at peace, And you will inspect your fold and miss nothing.

And you will know that your seed will be great, And your offspring like the grass of the earth.

You will come to the grave at a ripe old age, Like a shock of grain coming up in its season.

This is it. We have searched it out; it is so. Hear then and know it for yourself.