New International Version NIV
New Revised Standard NRS
1 “Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
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"Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
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Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.
3 I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
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I have seen fools taking root, but suddenly I cursed their dwelling.
4 His children are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
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Their children are far from safety, they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from among thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
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The hungry eat their harvest, and they take it even out of the thorns; and the thirsty pant after their wealth.
6 For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
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For misery does not come from the earth, nor does trouble sprout from the ground;
7 Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
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but human beings are born to trouble just as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.
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"As for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause.
9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted.
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He does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.
10 He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside.
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He gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields;
11 The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
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he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
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He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
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He takes the wise in their own craftiness; and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
14 Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.
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They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as in the night.
15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
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But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
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So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
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"How happy is the one whom God reproves; therefore do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.
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For he wounds, but he binds up; he strikes, but his hands heal.
19 From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will touch you.
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He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no harm shall touch you.
20 In famine he will deliver you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
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In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword.
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes.
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You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the wild animals.
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At destruction and famine you shall laugh, and shall not fear the wild animals of the earth.
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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For you shall be in league with the stones of the field, and the wild animals shall be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
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You shall know that your tent is safe, you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25 You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
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You shall know that your descendants will be many, and your offspring like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season.
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You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, as a shock of grain comes up to the threshing floor in its season.
27 “We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.”
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See, we have searched this out; it is true. Hear, and know it for yourself."
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.