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