GOD'S WORD Translation GW
New King James Version NKJV
1 "Cry out! Is there anyone to answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
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"Call out now; Is there anyone who will answer you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 Certainly, anger kills a stubborn fool, and jealousy murders a gullible person.
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For wrath kills a foolish man, And envy slays a simple one.
3 I have seen a stubborn fool take root, but I quickly cursed his house.
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I have seen the foolish taking root, But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.
4 His children are far from help. They are crushed at the city gate, and no one is there to rescue them.
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His sons are far from safety, They are crushed in the gate, And there is no deliverer.
5 What a stubborn fool gathers, hungry people eat. They take it even from among the thorns, and thirsty people pant after his wealth.
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Because the hungry eat up his harvest, Taking it even from the thorns, And a snare snatches their substance.
6 Certainly, sorrow doesn't come from the soil, and trouble doesn't sprout from the ground.
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For affliction does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble spring from the ground;
7 But a person is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly up [from a fire].
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Yet man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward.
8 "But I would seek God's help and present my case to him.
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"But as for me, I would seek God, And to God I would commit my cause--
9 He does great things that [we] cannot understand and miracles that [we] cannot count.
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Who does great things, and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number.
10 He gives rain to the earth and sends water to the fields.
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He gives rain on the earth, And sends waters on the fields.
11 He places lowly people up high. He lifts those who mourn to safety.
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He sets on high those who are lowly, And those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He keeps shrewd people from carrying out their plans so that they cannot do anything successfully.
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He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot carry out their plans.
13 He catches the wise with their own tricks. The plans of schemers prove to be hasty.
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He catches the wise in their own craftiness, And the counsel of the cunning comes quickly upon them.
14 In the daytime they meet darkness and grope in the sunlight as if it were night.
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They meet with darkness in the daytime, And grope at noontime as in the night.
15 "But he saves [other people] from their slander and the needy from the power of the mighty.
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But He saves the needy from the sword, From the mouth of the mighty, And from their hand.
16 Then the poor have hope while wrongdoing shuts its mouth.
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So the poor have hope, And injustice shuts her mouth.
17 "Blessed is the person whom God corrects. That person should not despise discipline from the Almighty.
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"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
18 God injures, but he bandages. He beats you up, but his hands make you well.
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For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole.
19 He will keep you safe from six troubles, and when the seventh one comes, no harm will touch you:
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He shall deliver you in six troubles, Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.
20 "In famine he will save you from death, and in war he will save you from the sword.
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In famine He shall redeem you from death, And in war from the power of the sword.
21 "When the tongue lashes out, you will be safe, and you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.
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You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, And you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.
22 "You will be able to laugh at destruction and starvation, so do not be afraid of wild animals on the earth.
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You shall laugh at destruction and famine, And you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 "You will have a binding agreement with the stones in the field, and wild animals will be at peace with you.
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For you shall have a covenant with the stones of the field, And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24 "You will know peace in your tent. You will inspect your house and find nothing missing.
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You shall know that your tent is in peace; You shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss.
25 "You will find that your children are many and your descendants are like the grass of the earth.
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You shall also know that your descendants shall be many, And your offspring like the grass of the earth.
26 "You will come to your grave at a ripe old age like a stack of hay in the right season.
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You shall come to the grave at a full age, As a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.
27 "We have studied all of this thoroughly! This is the way it is. Listen to it, and learn it for yourself."
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Behold, this we have searched out; It is true. Hear it, and know for yourself."