² “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?^(B)
3 Think how you have instructed many,^(C)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.^(D)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;^(E)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.^(F)
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;^(G)
    it strikes^(H) you, and you are dismayed.^(I)
6 Should not your piety be your confidence^(J)
    and your blameless^(K) ways your hope?

⁷ “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?^(L)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?^(M)
8 As I have observed,^(N) those who plow evil^(O)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.^(P)
9 At the breath of God^(Q) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.^(R)
10 The lions may roar^(S) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions^(T) are broken.^(U)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,^(V)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.^(W)

¹² “A word^(X) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper^(Y) of it.^(Z)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,^(AA)
14 fear and trembling^(AB) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.^(AC)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.^(AD)
16 It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:^(AE)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?^(AF)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?^(AG)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,^(AH)
    if he charges his angels with error,^(AI)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,^(AJ)
    whose foundations^(AK) are in the dust,^(AL)
    who are crushed^(AM) more readily than a moth!^(AN)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.^(AO)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,^(AP)
    so that they die^(AQ) without wisdom?’^(AR)

⁸ “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.^(BH)
9 He performs wonders^(BI) that cannot be fathomed,^(BJ)
    miracles that cannot be counted.^(BK)
10 He provides rain for the earth;^(BL)
    he sends water on the countryside.^(BM)
11 The lowly he sets on high,^(BN)
    and those who mourn^(BO) are lifted^(BP) to safety.
¹² He thwarts the plans^(BQ) of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.^(BR)
13 He catches the wise^(BS) in their craftiness,^(BT)
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.^(BU)
14 Darkness^(BV) comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.^(BW)
15 He saves the needy^(BX) from the sword in their mouth;
    he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.^(BY)
16 So the poor^(BZ) have hope,
    and injustice shuts its mouth.^(CA)

¹⁷ “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;^(CB)
    so do not despise the discipline^(CC) of the Almighty.^[a](CD)
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;^(CE)
    he injures, but his hands also heal.^(CF)
19 From six calamities he will rescue^(CG) you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.^(CH)
20 In famine^(CI) he will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.^(CJ)
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,^(CK)
    and need not fear^(CL) when destruction comes.^(CM)
22 You will laugh^(CN) at destruction and famine,^(CO)
    and need not fear the wild animals.^(CP)
23 For you will have a covenant^(CQ) with the stones^(CR) of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.^(CS)
24 You will know that your tent is secure;^(CT)
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.^(CU)
25 You will know that your children will be many,^(CV)
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.^(CW)
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,^(CX)
    like sheaves gathered in season.^(CY)

²⁷ “We have examined this, and it is true.
    So hear it^(CZ) and apply it to yourself.”^(DA)