² How long will you say such things?
How long will the words of your mouth be like a blustery wind?
³ Does God pervert justice?
Does the Almighty pervert what is right?
⁴ When your children sinned against him,
he handed them over to the consequences of their rebellion.
⁵ But if you will eagerly seek God
and plead for compassion from the Almighty,
⁶ if you are pure and upright,
then even now he will rouse himself on your behalf,
and he will restore your rightful dwelling place.
⁷ Then, though your beginnings were small,
your final days will be very great!

⁸ Yes, ask the previous generations,
and consider the discoveries of their fathers,
⁹ because we were born only yesterday and know nothing.
Our days on earth are nothing but a shadow.
¹⁰ Aren’t our ancestors the ones who should teach you and inform you,
the ones who brought forth words from their hearts?

¹¹ Does papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?
Do reeds thrive where there is no water?
¹² While they are still growing and uncut,
they can wither faster than any other plant.
¹³ This is the way it will be for all those who forget God.
The hope of the godless man perishes.
¹⁴ His source of confidence is fragile.
He trusts in something as fragile as a spider’s web.
¹⁵ He leans on his web, but it does not support him.
He grasps it, but it does not hold him up.
¹⁶ He is a thriving plant flourishing in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots over the garden.
¹⁷ It wraps its roots around a heap of rocks.
It finds a home among the stones.
¹⁸ But if it is uprooted from its place,
that place disowns it, saying, “I have never seen you!”
¹⁹ Yes, the only good thing that comes from this situation is that
    from the dust another plant sprouts.^[a]

²⁰ Certainly God does not reject a blameless man
or strengthen the hand of evildoers.
²¹ He will again fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with a joyful shout.
²² Your enemies will be clothed with shame,
and the tents of the wicked will be no more.