² “How long will you say such things?
    The words of your mouth are like a turbulent wind.
³ Does God pervert justice?
    Does the Almighty distort the truth?
⁴ If your children sinned against him,
    he has delivered them into the power of their transgressions.
⁵ “If you yourself will now seek God
    as one who is pure and upright
    and make supplication to the Almighty,
⁶ then he will rouse himself on your behalf
    and restore the prosperity of your house.
⁷ Your former state will seem inconsequential
    in the light of your future prosperity.

⁸ “Inquire now of former generations
    and reflect on what their ancestors came to realize.
⁹ For we are only born yesterday and know nothing,
    since our days on earth are but a shadow.^[c]
10 Will they not instruct you and tell you,
    and utter words out of their understanding?
¹¹ “Can a papyrus flourish where there is no marsh?
    Can reeds grow without water?
¹² While yet green and not cut down,
    they wither more quickly than any plant.
¹³ Such is the fate of all those who forget God;
    thus the hope of the godless man will perish.
¹⁴ His confidence is only a thread,
    his trust a spider’s web.
¹⁵ If he leans against his house, it will begin to totter;
    if he clings to it, it will not endure.
¹⁶ “At dawn he seems quite strong and virile,
    like a plant whose young roots spread out over the garden.
¹⁷ His roots are entwined around a pile of stones;
    he draws his strength from among the rocks.
¹⁸ But if someone uproots him from his place,
    it will disown him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’
¹⁹ There he lies, rotting along the roadside,^[d]
    and others will sprout forth from the soil.
²⁰ “Be assured, God will not reject a blameless person,
    nor will he grasp the hand of the wrongdoer.
²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
    and your lips with joyful cries.
²² Those who hate you will be covered with shame,
    and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”