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v1
“Call now, is there anyone answering you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?
v2
For vexation will slay the fool, and jealousy will kill the simple.
v3
I have seen a fool taking root, but ^[Hebrew “And”] suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
v4
His children are far from deliverance, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer—
v5
whose harvest the hungry eats, and he takes it from behind ^[Literally “to from”] the thorns; and the thirsty pants after their wealth.
v6
Indeed, ^[Or “For”] mischief does not come from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the earth.
v7
But a human being is born to trouble, and they soar aloft ^[Literally “they make high to fly”] like sparks. ^[Literally “children of flame”]
v8
“But I myself ^[Emphatic personal pronoun] will seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.
v9
He is doing great and unsearchable ^[Literally “there is no searching”] things, marvelous things without number ^[Literally “until there is no number”]—
v10
the one who is giving rain on the surface of ^[Literally “faces of”] the earth and is sending water on the surface of ^[Literally “faces of”] the fields,
v11
to set the lowly on high, and those mourning are lifted to safety.
v12
He is frustrating the devices of the crafty, and their hands do not achieve success.
v13
He is capturing the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are rushed.
v14
In the daytime they meet with darkness, and they grope at noon ^[Or “the noon”] as in the night.
v15
And ^[Or “Thus,” or “So”] he saves from the sword of ^[Literally “from”] their mouth, even ^[Literally “and”; the entire verse could be translated “So he saves the poor from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the strong”] the poor from the hand of the strong.
v16
So ^[Or “And”] there is hope ^[Or “hope exists”] for the powerless, and wickedness shuts its mouth.
v17
“Look, happy is the human being whom God reproves; and you must not despise the discipline of Shaddai,
v18
for he himself ^[Emphatic personal pronoun] wounds, but ^[Hebrew “and”] he binds up; he strikes, but ^[Hebrew “and”] his hands heal.
v19
From ^[Literally “In,” or “By”] six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven evil shall not touch you.
v20
In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of ^[Literally “hand of”] the sword.
v21
From the scourge of the tongue you shall be hidden, and you shall not be afraid of ^[Hebrew “from”] destruction when it comes.
v22
At destruction and famine ^[Hebrew “at famine”] you shall laugh, and you shall not fear the wild animals of the earth.
v23
For your covenant will be with the stones of the field, and the wild animals ^[Collective singular] of the field will be at peace with you.
v24
And you shall know that your tent is safe, and you will inspect your fold, and you shall not be missing anything.
v25
And you shall know that your offspring are many, and your descendants like the vegetation of the earth.
v26
You shall come in maturity to the grave, as the raising up of a stack of sheaves in its season.
v27
“Look, we have searched this out—it is true; hear it and know it yourself.” ^[Literally “you for yourself”]