8:2 "How long will you go on like this? You sound like a blustering wind.
8:3 Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right?
8:4 Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.
8:5 But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty,
8:6 and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.
8:7 And though you started with little, you will end with much.
8:8 "Just ask the previous generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.
8:9 For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.
8:10 But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old.
8:11 "Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass flourish without water?
8:12 While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass.
8:13 The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate.
8:14 Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider's web.
8:15 They cling to their home for security, but it won't last. They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.
8:16 The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden.
8:17 Its roots grow down through a pile of stones; it takes hold on a bed of rocks.
8:18 But when it is uprooted, it's as though it never existed!
8:19 That's the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it.
8:20 "But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.
8:21 He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.
8:22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the home of the wicked will be destroyed."
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