⁸ “Please ^(H)inquire of past generations,
And consider the things searched out by their fathers.
⁹ For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,
Because ^(I)our days on earth are as a shadow.
¹⁰ Will they not teach you and tell you,
And bring forth words from their minds?

¹¹ “Can papyrus grow tall without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
¹² While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other ^[e]plant.
¹³ So are the paths of ^(J)all who forget God;
And the ^(K)hope of the godless will perish,
¹⁴ His confidence is fragile,
And his trust is a ^(L)spider’s ^[f]web.
¹⁵ He depends on his ^(M)house, but it does not stand;
He holds on to it, but it does not endure.
¹⁶ He ^(N)flourishes before the sun,
And his ^(O)shoots spread out over his garden.
¹⁷ His roots wrap around a rock pile,
He ^[g]grasps a house of stones.
¹⁸ If he is ^[h]removed from ^(P)his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘^(Q)I never saw you.’
¹⁹ Behold, ^(R)this is the joy of His way;
And out of the dust others will spring.
²⁰ Behold, ^(S)God will not reject a person of integrity,
Nor ^(T)will He ^[i]help evildoers.
²¹ He will yet fill ^(U)your mouth with laughter,
And your lips with joyful shouting.
²² Those who hate you will be ^(V)clothed with shame,
And the ^(W)tent of the wicked will no longer exist.”