5

¹Ca le tsaa suab hu nwgnuav.
Muaj leejtwg yuav teb koj?
Koj yuav tig moog cuag tug timtswv twg?
²Txujkev chim sab yuav tua tug kws ruag,
txujkev sws khib yuav tua tug kws tsw thoob tswb.
³Kuv txeev pum tug ruag ntsa caag tub,
tassws taamswm hov
kuv tsawm foom nwg lub chaw nyob.
⁴Nwg tej tub nyob deb lub chaw tso sab plhuav,
puab raug quab yuam
ntawm rooj loog kws tu plaub,
tsw muaj leejtwg cawm puab dim.
⁵Tej kws tug ruag hlais
mas cov tuabneeg tshaib muab noj lawm,
txawm yog tej kws tuaj huv cov xuav paug
los puab muab rhu moog lawm,
hab cov tuabneeg nqhes dej
lawv nwg tej nyaj txag ua txug sav qhe.
⁶Txujkev txom nyem nyuaj sab
tsw yog tawm huv moov aav lug,
hab txujkev ceblaaj
tsw yog ua kaug tawm huv aav tuaj.
⁷Tuabneeg yug lug yeej yuav raug kev ceblaaj,
yaam le lub txaim tawg kws yeej yaa rua sau.

⁸“Kuv tug kheej mas kuv yuav nrhav Vaajtswv,
hab muab kuv tej teeb meem tso rua Vaajtswv,
⁹nwg yog tug kws ua tej num luj kws paub tsw taag,
hab ua tej txujci phemfwj kws suav tsw txheeb.
¹⁰Nwg pub naag lug rua sau lub nplajteb,
hab tso dej lug rua sau tej laj teb.
¹¹Nwg muab cov tuabneeg qeg
tsaa rua sau lub chaw sab,
hab muab cov tuabneeg quaj ntsuag
tsaa rua sau lub chaw tso sab plhuav.
¹²Nwg taav cov tuabneeg ntse tej tswvyim phem,
sub puab txhais teg ua tsw tau daabtsw kuas tav.
¹³Nwg swv cov tuabneeg
muaj tswvyim txujkev ntse rov nteg puab,
hab ua rua cov tuabneeg sab nkhaus
tej tswvyim pluj plag sai kawg.
¹⁴Puab ntswb txujkev tsaus ntuj nti
rua thaus nruab nub,
hab thaus taav su
los puab xuas ib yaam le mo ntuj.
¹⁵Vaajtswv cawm cov tuabneeg pluag
dim lub qhov ncauj nav ntaaj,
hab cawm cov kws txom nyem
dim huv cov kws muaj zug txhais teg.
¹⁶Cov pluag txhad le muaj vaam,
hab txujkev tu plaub tsw ncaaj
kaw nwg lub qhov ncauj.

¹⁷“Saib maj, tug tuabneeg twg
kws Vaajtswv ntuag kuj tau koob moov,
yog le nuav tsw xob saib tsw taug
qhov kws tug muaj fwjchim luj kawg nkaus
nplawm qhuab qha.
¹⁸Nwg ua kuas mob,
tassws nwg yuav qhwv lub qhov txhaab.
Nwg nplawm
tassws nwg txhais teg yuav khu.
¹⁹Nwg yuav cawm koj dim
huv rau yaam kev ceblaaj,
huv xyaa yaam
yuav tsw muaj xwm txheej phem lug raug koj.
²⁰Thaus muaj kev tshaib nqhes
nwg yuav txhwv koj dim huv txujkev tuag,
thaus ua rog nwg yuav cawm koj
dim nav ntaaj nav rag.
²¹Yuav muab koj zais ntawm tug nplaig
kws xyaav tsw zoo,
hab koj yuav tsw ntshai
thaus kev puam tsuaj lug txug.
²²Koj yuav luag txujkev puam tsuaj
hab txujkev tshaib nqhes,
hab koj yuav tsw ntshai
tej tsaj qus huv lub nplajteb.
²³Koj yuav nrug tej pob zeb huv daim teb
sws raug zoo,
hab tej tsaj qus yuav nrug koj nyob zoo zoo.
²⁴Koj yuav paub tas koj lub tsev ntaub
nyob tso sab plhuav,
koj tshuaj saib koj lub nkuaj yaaj
yuav tsw pluj ib tug le.
²⁵Koj yuav paub tas koj caaj ceg yuav coob kawg,
hab koj tej tub ki yuav zoo yaam nkaus le
tej nroj tsuag huv nplajteb.
²⁶Koj yuav lug rua huv koj lub qhov ntxaa
rua thaus koj laug heev lawm, yaam le
tej teg qoob kws coj lug rua huv tshaav ntaus qoob
lawv le lub caij lub nyoog.
²⁷Tej nuav yog tej kws
peb tau tshuaj saib lug, muaj tseeb.
Ca le noog hab kawm paub
txhad muaj qaabhau rua koj.”

5

¹“Call if you will, but who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
²Resentment kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.
³I myself have seen a fool taking root,
but suddenly his house was cursed.
⁴His children are far from safety,
crushed in court without a defender.
⁵The hungry consume his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
⁶For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
⁷Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸“But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.
⁹He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
¹⁰He provides rain for the earth;
he sends water on the countryside.
¹¹The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
¹²He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
¹³He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
¹⁴Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.
¹⁵He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
¹⁶So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.

¹⁷“Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.⚓
¹⁸For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal.
¹⁹From six calamities he will rescue you;
in seven no harm will touch you.
²⁰In famine he will deliver you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
²¹You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes.
²²You will laugh at destruction and famine,
and need not fear the wild animals.
²³For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
²⁴You will know that your tent is secure;
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
²⁵You will know that your children will be many,
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
²⁶You will come to the grave in full vigor,
like sheaves gathered in season.

²⁷“We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself.”