章 |
5:1 |
"'Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
|
5:2 |
Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
|
5:3 |
I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
|
5:4 |
His children are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
|
5:5 |
The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from among thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
|
5:6 |
For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
|
5:7 |
Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
|
5:8 |
"But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.
|
5:9 |
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
|
5:10 |
He bestows rain on the earth; he sends water upon the countryside.
|
5:11 |
The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
|
5:12 |
He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
|
5:13 |
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
|
5:14 |
Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.
|
5:15 |
He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
|
5:16 |
So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
|
5:17 |
"Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
|
5:18 |
For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.
|
5:19 |
From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will befall you.
|
5:20 |
In famine he will ransom you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
|
5:21 |
You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.
|
5:22 |
You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
|
5:23 |
For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
|
5:24 |
You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
|
5:25 |
You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
|
5:26 |
You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season.
|
5:27 |
"We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself."
|