5. if thou would seek God early and make thy supplication to the Almighty,
6. if thou wert pure and upright, surely now he would awake upon thee and make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.
7. In such a way that thy beginning would have been small, in comparison to the great increase of thy latter.
8. Ask, I pray thee, of the former age, and be willing to enquire of thy fathers regarding them;
9. for we are but of yesterday and know nothing because our days upon earth are as a shadow.
10. Shall they not teach thee and tell thee and utter these words out of their heart?
11. Can the rush grow up without mire? Can the meadow grow without water?
12. Whilst it is yet in its greenness and not cut down, it withers before any other herb.
13. So are the paths of all that forget God, and the hypocrite’s hope shall perish.
14. For his hope shall be cut off, and his trust is a spider’s web.
15. He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand; he shall hold it fast, but it shall not endure.
16. Like a tree, he is green before the sun, and his branches go forth over his garden;
17. his roots weave themselves around a spring and secure themselves even in a stony place.
18. If he is uprooted from his place, then it shall deny him, saying, I have not seen thee.
19. Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the earth from where he was transplanted, others shall grow.
20. Behold, God will not cast away a perfect man; neither will he help the evil doers.