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11 “Can the papyrus grow up without mire?
    Can the rushes grow without water?
12 While it is yet in its greenness, not cut down,
    it withers before any other reed.
13 So are the paths of all who forget God.
    The hope of the godless man will perish,
14 Whose confidence will break apart,
    Whose trust is a spider’s web.
15 He will lean on his house, but it will not stand.
    He will cling to it, but it will not endure.
16 He is green before the sun.
    His shoots go out along his garden.
17 His roots are wrapped around the rock pile.
    He sees the place of stones.
18 If he is destroyed from his place,
    then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’
19 Behold, this is the joy of his way:
    out of the earth, others will spring.

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11 “Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh?
    Can marsh grass flourish without water?
12 While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut,
    they begin to wither more quickly than grass.
13 The same happens to all who forget God.
    The hopes of the godless evaporate.
14 Their confidence hangs by a thread.
    They are leaning on a spider’s web.
15 They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last.
    They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.
16 The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine,
    its branches spreading across the garden.
17 Its roots grow down through a pile of stones;
    it takes hold on a bed of rocks.
18 But when it is uprooted,
    it’s as though it never existed!
19 That’s the end of its life,
    and others spring up from the earth to replace it.

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