² “How long will you keep talking like this?
    How long will you keep talking like a wind storm?
³ Does God pervert justice?
    Does the Almighty pervert what’s right?

⁴ “If your children sin against him,
    he’ll make them a prisoner^[a] of their sins.
⁵ If you seek God,
    if you ask the Almighty for mercy,
⁶ if you are clean and upright,
    surely then, he’ll act on your behalf
        and restore your rightful^[b] place.
⁷ Your beginning may be small,
    but later years^[c] will be very great.

⁸ “Inquire of the previous generation, won’t you please?
    Consider what their forefathers searched out.
⁹ Because we are of yesterday and we know nothing,
    for our time on earth is only a shadow.
¹⁰ Won’t they instruct you, and tell you,
    and bring out words from the heart?

¹¹ “Can papyrus grow where there’s no marsh?
    Can reeds flourish without water?
¹² While they are still green
    and not yet ready to be harvested,
        they wither before any plant.
¹³ Such are the paths of everyone who forgets God—
    the hope of the godless will be destroyed:
¹⁴ his confidence is shattered;
    his trust is in a spider’s web.
¹⁵ He leans against his house,
    but it won’t stand;
he grabs hold of it firmly,
    but it doesn’t last.
¹⁶ He is a fresh sapling planted in the sunlight,
    spreading out its branches over its garden.
¹⁷ Its roots weave around a pile of stones,
    seeking to entrench itself among the rocks.
¹⁸ If he is uprooted^[d] from his place,
    then it will deny him:
        ‘I never saw you.’

¹⁹ “Indeed, this is the benefit of God’s^[e] way:
    from the soil other plants^[f] will sprout.
²⁰ Surely God won’t reject those who are blameless
    or hold hands with those who practice evil.
²¹ He will soon fill your mouth with laughter,
    and your lips will shout with joy.
²² Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,
    and the tent of the wicked will no longer exist.