⁸ “If I were you, I would go to God
    and present my case to him.
⁹ He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles.
¹⁰ He gives rain for the earth
    and water for the fields.
¹¹ He gives prosperity to the poor
    and protects those who suffer.
¹² He frustrates the plans of schemers
    so the work of their hands will not succeed.
¹³ He traps the wise in their own cleverness
    so their cunning schemes are thwarted.
¹⁴ They find it is dark in the daytime,
    and they grope at noon as if it were night.
¹⁵ He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong,
    and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.
¹⁶ And so at last the poor have hope,
    and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

¹⁷ “But consider the joy of those corrected by God!
    Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.
¹⁸ For though he wounds, he also bandages.
    He strikes, but his hands also heal.
¹⁹ From six disasters he will rescue you;
    even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.
²⁰ He will save you from death in time of famine,
    from the power of the sword in time of war.
²¹ You will be safe from slander
    and have no fear when destruction comes.
²² You will laugh at destruction and famine;
    wild animals will not terrify you.
²³ You will be at peace with the stones of the field,
    and its wild animals will be at peace with you.
²⁴ You will know that your home is safe.
    When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.
²⁵ You will have many children;
    your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!
²⁶ You will go to the grave at a ripe old age,
    like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!

²⁷ “We have studied life and found all this to be true.
    Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.”