2Give ear, you wise, to my words; and you who have knowledge, give attention to me;
3For words are tested by the ear, as food is tasted by the mouth.
4Let us make the decision for ourselves as to what is right; let us have the knowledge among ourselves of what is good.
5For Job has said, I am upright, and it is God who has taken away my right;
6Though I am right, still I am in pain; my wound may not be made well, though I have done no wrong.
7What man is like Job, a man who freely makes sport of God,
8And goes in the company of evil-doers, walking in the way of sinners?
9For he has said, It is no profit to a man to take delight in God.
10Now then, you wise, take note; you men of knowledge, give ear to me. Let it be far from God to do evil, and from the Ruler of all to do wrong.
11For he gives to every man the reward of his work, and sees that he gets the fruit of his ways.
12Truly, God does not do evil, and the Ruler of all is not a false judge.
13Who put the earth into his care, or made him responsible for the world?
14If he made his spirit come back to him, taking his breath into himself again,
15All flesh would come to an end together, and man would go back to the dust.
16If you are wise, take note of this; give ear to the voice of my words.
17How may a hater of right be a ruler? and will you say that the upright Ruler of all is evil?
18He who says to a king, You are an evil-doer; and to rulers, You are sinners;
19Who has no respect for rulers, and who gives no more attention to those who have wealth than to the poor, for they are all the work of his hands.
20Suddenly they come to an end, even in the middle of the night: the blow comes on the men of wealth, and they are gone, and the strong are taken away without the hand of man.
21For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps.
22There is no dark place, and no thick cloud, in which the workers of evil may take cover.
23For he does not give man a fixed time to come before him to be judged.
24He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place.
25For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed.
26The evil-doers are broken by his wrath, he puts his hand on them with force before the eyes of all onlookers.
27Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways,
28So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears.
