Is not their excess wealth ¹  taken away from them? ²  They die, ³  yet without attaining wisdom. ⁴ 

“To the one in despair, kindness ¹  should come from his friend ²  even if ³  he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

“It is all one! ¹  That is why I say, ²  ‘He destroys the blameless and the guilty.’

For he ¹  knows deceitful ²  men; when he sees evil, will he not ³  consider it? ⁴ 

“But now, ask the animals and they ²  will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you.

Look away from him and let him desist, ¹  until he fulfills ²  his time like a hired man.

He will not grow rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions ¹  spread over the land.

If even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure as far as he is concerned, ¹ 

It hurls itself against him without pity ¹  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 ¹  just: when ²  you say, ‘My right before God.’ ³ 

“Are you acquainted with the way ¹  the mountain goats ²  give birth? Do you watch as the wild deer give birth to their young?

If the river rages, ¹  it is not disturbed, it is secure, ²  though the Jordan should surge up to its mouth.

He will not escape the darkness; ¹  a flame will wither his shoots and he will depart by the breath of God’s mouth. ² 

Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! ¹  How faint is the whisper ²  we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?”

Have you ¹  not made a hedge ²  around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed ³  the work of his hands, and his livestock ⁴  have increased ⁵  in the land.