8:2 “How long will you say such things? The words of your mouth are like a turbulent wind.
8:3 Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty distort the truth?
8:4 If your children sinned against him, he has delivered them into the power of their transgressions.
8:5 “If you yourself will now seek God as one who is pure and upright and make supplication to the Almighty,
8:6 then he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore the prosperity of your house.
8:7 Your former state will seem inconsequential in the light of your future prosperity.
8:8 “Inquire now of former generations and reflect on what their ancestors came to realize.
8:9 For we are only born yesterday and know nothing, since our days on earth are but a shadow.
8:10 Will they not instruct you and tell you, and utter words out of their understanding?
8:11 “Can a papyrus flourish where there is no marsh? Can reeds grow without water?
8:12 While yet green and not cut down, they wither more quickly than any plant.
8:13 Such is the fate of all those who forget God; thus the hope of the godless man will perish.
8:14 His confidence is only a thread, his trust a spider’s web.
8:15 If he leans against his house, it will begin to totter; if he clings to it, it will not endure.
8:16 “At dawn he seems quite strong and virile, like a plant whose young roots spread out over the garden.
8:17 His roots are entwined around a pile of stones; he draws his strength from among the rocks.
8:18 But if someone uproots him from his place, it will disown him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’
8:19 There he lies, rotting along the roadside, and others will sprout forth from the soil.
8:20 “Be assured, God will not reject a blameless person, nor will he grasp the hand of the wrongdoer.
8:21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with joyful cries.
8:22 Those who hate you will be covered with shame, and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”
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