Call to mind now: Who, being innocent, ever perished? And where were upright people ever destroyed?

Is not their excess wealth taken away from them? They die, yet without attaining wisdom.

“To the one in despair, kindness should come from his friend even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

“It is all one! That is why I say, ‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’

For he knows deceitful men; when he sees evil, will he not consider it?

“But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.

Look away from him and let him desist, until he fulfills his time like a hired man.

He will not grow rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.

If even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure as far as he is concerned,

It hurls itself against him without pity as he flees headlong from its power.

if I have rejoiced because of the extent of my wealth, or because of the great wealth my hand had gained,

“Do you think this to be just: when you say, ‘My right before God.’

If the river rages, it is not disturbed, it is secure, though the Jordan should surge up to its mouth.

He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots and he will depart by the breath of God’s mouth.

Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?”

Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.