2 “How long will you say these things?

How long will your words be so windy?

3 Does God distort justice,

or does the Almighty distort righteousness?

4 If your children sinned against him,

he allowed them to suffer the consequences of their sinfulness.

5 If you search for God

and plead for mercy from the Almighty,

6 if you are moral and ethical,

then he will rise up on your behalf

and prove your righteousness by rebuilding your home.

7 Then what you had in the past will seem small

compared with the great prosperity you’ll have in the future.

8 “Ask the people of past generations.

Find out what their ancestors had learned.

9 We have only been around since yesterday, and we know nothing.

Our days on earth are only a fleeting shadow.

10 Won’t their words teach you?

Won’t they share their thoughts with you?

11 “Can papyrus grow up where there is no swamp?

Can rushes grow tall without water?

12 Even if they were fresh and not cut,

they would wither quicker than grass.

13 The same thing happens to all who forget God.

The hope of the godless dies.

14 His confidence is easily shattered.

His trust is a spider’s web.

15 If one leans on his house, it collapses.

If one holds on to it, it will not support his weight.

16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine.

The shoots spread over his garden.

17 Its roots weave through a pile of stones.

They cling to a stone house.

18 But when it is uprooted from its place,

⌞the ground⌟ denies it ⌞and says⌟, ‘I never saw you!’

19 That is its joy in this life,

and others sprout from the same ground to ⌞take its place⌟.

20 “Certainly, God does not reject a person of integrity

or give a helping hand to wicked people.

21 He will fill your mouth with laughter

and your lips with happy shouting.

22 Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

and the tent of the wicked will cease to exist.”