⁷ “Let my enemy be as the wicked,
    and let him that rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
⁸ For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,
    when God takes away his life?
⁹ Will God hear his cry,
    when trouble comes upon him?
¹⁰ Will he take delight in the Almighty?
    Will he call upon God at all times?
¹¹ I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
    what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
¹² Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
    why then have you become altogether vain?

¹³ “This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
    and the heritage which oppressors receive from the Almighty:
¹⁴ If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword;
    and his offspring have not enough to eat.
¹⁵ Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
    and their widows make no lamentation.
¹⁶ Though he heap up silver like dust,
    and pile up clothing like clay;
¹⁷ he may pile it up, but the just will wear it,
    and the innocent will divide the silver.
¹⁸ The house which he builds is like a spider’s web,^[c]
    like a booth which a watchman makes.
¹⁹ He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more;^[d]
    he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.
²⁰ Terrors overtake him like a flood;
    in the night a whirlwind carries him off.
²¹ The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
    it sweeps him out of his place.
²² It^[e] hurls at him without pity;
    he flees from its^[f] power in headlong flight.
²³ It^[g] claps its^[h] hands at him,
    and hisses at him from its^[i] place.

⁷ “That path no bird of prey knows,
    and the falcon’s eye has not seen it.
⁸ The proud beasts have not trodden it;
    the lion has not passed over it.

⁹ “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock,
    and overturns mountains by the roots.
¹⁰ He cuts out channels in the rocks,
    and his eye sees every precious thing.
¹¹ He binds up the streams so that they do not trickle,
    and the thing that is hid he brings forth to light.

¹² “But where shall wisdom be found?
    And where is the place of understanding?
¹³ Man does not know the way to it,^[k]
    and it is not found in the land of the living.
¹⁴ The deep says, ‘It is not in me,’
    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.’
¹⁵ It cannot be gotten for gold,
    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.
¹⁶ It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,
    in precious onyx or sapphire.^[l]
17 Gold and glass cannot equal it,
    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.
¹⁸ No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;
    the price of wisdom is above pearls.
¹⁹ The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,
    nor can it be valued in pure gold.

²⁰ “Whence then comes wisdom?
    And where is the place of understanding?
²¹ It is hid from the eyes of all living,
    and concealed from the birds of the air.
²² Abaddon and Death say,
    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’

²³ “God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
²⁴ For he looks to the ends of the earth,
    and sees everything under the heavens.
²⁵ When he gave to the wind its weight,
    and meted out the waters by measure;
²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain,
    and a way for the lightning of the thunder;
²⁷ then he saw it and declared it;
    he established it, and searched it out.
²⁸ And he said to man,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
    and to depart from evil is understanding.’”

⁵ Wisdom^[b] also, when the nations in wicked agreement had been confounded,
recognized the righteous man and preserved him blameless before God,
and kept him strong in the face of his compassion for his child.

⁶ Wisdom^[c] rescued a righteous man when the ungodly were perishing;
he escaped the fire that descended on the Five Cities.^[d]
7 Evidence of their wickedness still remains:
a continually smoking wasteland,
plants bearing fruit that does not ripen,
and a pillar of salt standing as a monument to an unbelieving soul.
⁸ For because they passed wisdom by,
they not only were hindered from recognizing the good,
but also left for mankind a reminder of their folly,
so that their failures could never go unnoticed.

⁹ Wisdom rescued from troubles those who served her.
¹⁰ When a righteous man fled from his brother’s wrath,
she guided him on straight paths;
she showed him the kingdom of God,
and gave him knowledge of angels;^[e]
she prospered him in his labors,
and increased the fruit of his toil.
¹¹ When his oppressors were covetous,
she stood by him and made him rich.
¹² She protected him from his enemies,
and kept him safe from those who lay in wait for him;
in his arduous contest she gave him the victory,
so that he might learn that godliness is more powerful than anything.