¹³ “If only you would prepare your heart
    and lift up your hands to him in prayer!

⁶ I lift my hands to you in prayer.
    I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. Interlude

⁹     My eyes are blinded by my tears.
Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;
    I lift my hands to you for mercy.

⁸ Then they will not be like their ancestors—
    stubborn, rebellious, and unfaithful,
    refusing to give their hearts to God.

⁵ But if you pray to God
    and seek the favor of the Almighty,
⁶ and if you are pure and live with integrity,
    he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.

³¹ Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals^[a];
    let Ethiopia^[b] bring tribute to God.

²¹ “Submit to God, and you will have peace;
    then things will go well for you.
²² Listen to his instructions,
    and store them in your heart.

⁸ “If I were you, I would go to God
    and present my case to him.