| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1"Call now! Is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? | 1“Cry for help, but will anyone answer you? Which of the angels will help you? |
| 2For wrath kills the foolish person, and anger slays the silly one. | 2Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple. |
| 3I myself have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his place of residence. | 3I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster. |
| 4His children are far from safety, and they are crushed at the place where judgment is rendered, nor is there anyone to deliver them. | 4Their children are abandoned far from help; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them. |
| 5The hungry eat up his harvest, and take it even from behind the thorns, and the thirsty swallow up their fortune. | 5The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant after their wealth. |
| 6For evil does not come up from the dust, nor does trouble spring up from the ground, | 6But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth. |
| 7but people are born to trouble, as surely as the sparks fly upward. | 7People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire. |
| 8"But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would set forth my case. | 8“If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him. |
| 9He does great and unsearchable things, marvelous things without number; | 9He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles. |
| 10he gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields; | 10He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields. |
| 11he sets the lowly on high, that those who mourn are raised to safety. | 11He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer. |
| 12He frustrates the plans of the crafty so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had planned! | 12He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed. |
| 13He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning is brought to a quick end. | 13He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted. |
| 14They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope about in the noontime as if it were night. | 14They find it is dark in the daytime, and they grope at noon as if it were night. |
| 15So he saves from the sword that comes from their mouth, even the poor from the hand of the powerful. | 15He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong, and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful. |
| 16Thus the poor have hope, and iniquity shuts its mouth. | 16And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut. |
| 17"Therefore, blessed is the man whom God corrects, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. | 17“But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin. |
| 18For he wounds, but he also bandages; he strikes, but his hands also heal. | 18For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal. |
| 19He will deliver you from six calamities; yes, in seven no evil will touch you. | 19From six disasters he will rescue you; even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil. |
| 20In time of famine he will redeem you from death, and in time of war from the power of the sword. | 20He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war. |
| 21You will be protected from malicious gossip, and will not be afraid of the destruction when it comes. | 21You will be safe from slander and have no fear when destruction comes. |
| 22You will laugh at destruction and famine and need not be afraid of the beasts of the earth. | 22You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you. |
| 23For you will have a pact with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. | 23You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you. |
| 24And you will know that your home will be secure, and when you inspect your domains, you will not be missing anything. | 24You will know that your home is safe. When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing. |
| 25You will also know that your children will be numerous, and your descendants like the grass of the earth. | 25You will have many children; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass! |
| 26You will come to your grave in a full age, As stacks of grain are harvested in their season. | 26You will go to the grave at a ripe old age, like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time! |
| 27Look, we have investigated this, so it is true. Hear it, and apply it for your own good." | 27“We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.” |
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