11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?

Can reeds thrive without water?

12 While still growing and uncut,

they wither more quickly than grass.

13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;

so perishes the hope of the godless.

14 What they trust in is fragile;

what they rely on is a spider’s web.

15 They lean on the web, but it gives way;

they cling to it, but it does not hold.

16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,

spreading its shoots over the garden;

17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks

and looks for a place among the stones.

18 But when it is torn from its spot,

that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’

19 Surely its life withers away,

and from the soil other plants grow.

11 Can the rush grow up without mire?

Can the flag grow without water?

12 Whilst it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down,

It withereth before any other herb.

13 So are the paths of all that forget God;

And the hypocrite’s hope shall perish:

14 Whose hope shall be cut off,

And whose trust shall be 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 He is green before the sun,

And his branch shooteth forth in his garden.

17 His roots are wrapped about the heap,

And seeth the place of stones.

18 If he destroy him 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 shall others grow.

11 “Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh?

Can marsh grass flourish without water?

12 While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut,

they begin to wither more quickly than grass.

13 The same happens to all who forget God.

The hopes of the godless evaporate.

14 Their confidence hangs by a thread.

They are leaning on a spider’s web.

15 They cling to their home for security, but it won’t last.

They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.

16 The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine,

its branches spreading across the garden.

17 Its roots grow down through a pile of stones;

it takes hold on a bed of rocks.

18 But when it is uprooted,

it’s as though it never existed!

19 That’s the end of its life,

and others spring up from the earth to replace it.

11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?

Can the reeds flourish without water?

12 While it is yet green and not cut down,

It withers before any other plant.

13 So are the paths of all who forget God;

And the hope of the hypocrite shall perish,

14 Whose confidence shall be cut off,

And whose trust is a spider’s web.

15 He leans on his house, but it does not stand.

He holds it fast, but it does not endure.

16 He grows green in the sun,

And his branches spread out in his garden.

17 His roots wrap around the rock heap,

And look for a place in the stones.

18 If he is destroyed from his place,

Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have not seen you.’

19 “Behold, this is the joy of His way,

And out of the earth others will grow.

11 Papyrus plants cannot grow where there is no swamp,

and reeds cannot grow tall without water.

12 While they are still growing and not yet cut,

they will dry up quicker than grass.

13 That is what will happen to those who forget God;

the hope of the wicked will be gone.

14 What they hope in is easily broken;

what they trust is like a spider’s web.

15 They lean on the spider’s web, but it breaks.

They grab it, but it does not hold up.

16 They are like well-watered plants in the sunshine

that spread their roots all through the garden.

17 They wrap their roots around a pile of rocks

and look for a place among the stones.

18 But if a plant is torn from its place,

then that place rejects it and says, ‘I never saw you.’

19 Now joy has gone away;

other plants grow up from the same dirt.

11 Can the rush grow up without mire?

Can the flag grow without water?

12 Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down,

It withereth before any other herb.

13 So are the paths of all that forget God;

And the hope of the godless man shall perish:

14 Whose confidence shall break in sunder,

And whose trust is a spider’s web.

15 He shall lean upon his house, but it shall not stand:

He shall hold fast thereby, but it shall not endure.

16 He is green before the sun,

And his shoots go forth over his garden.

17 His roots are wrapped about the stone-heap,

He beholdeth the place of stones.

18 If he be destroyed 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 shall others spring.

11 Doth the papyrus shoot up without mire? doth the reed-grass grow without water? 12 Whilst it is yet in its greenness and not cut down, it withereth before any other grass. 13 So are the paths of all that forget •God; and the profane man’s hope shall perish, 14 Whose confidence shall be cut off, and his reliance is a spider’s web. 15 He shall lean upon his house, and it shall not stand; he shall lay hold on it, but it shall not endure. 16 He is full of sap before the sun, and his sprout shooteth forth over his garden; 17 His roots are entwined about the stoneheap; he seeth the place of stones. 18 If he destroy him from his place, then it shall deny him: I have not seen thee! 19 Behold, this is the joy of his way, and out of the dust shall others grow.

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⸥. 

11 Does papyrus grow where there is no marsh?

Do reeds flourish without water?

12 While still uncut shoots,

they would dry up quicker than any other plant.

13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;

the hope of the godless will perish.

14 His source of confidence is fragile;

what he trusts in is a spider’s web.

15 He leans on his web, but it doesn’t stand firm.

He grabs it, but it does not hold up.

16 He is a well-watered plant in the sunshine;

his shoots spread out over his garden.

17 His roots are intertwined around a pile of rocks.

He looks for a home among the stones.

18 If he is uprooted from his place,

it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.”

19 Surely this is the joy of his way of life;

yet others will sprout from the dust.

11 “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?

Can reeds flourish where there is no water?

12 While yet in flower and not cut down,

they wither before any other plant.

13 Such are the paths of all who forget God;

the hope of the godless shall perish.

14 Their confidence is gossamer,

a spider’s house their trust.

15 If one leans against its house, it will not stand;

if one lays hold of it, it will not endure.

16 The wicked thrive before the sun,

and their shoots spread over the garden.

17 Their roots twine around the stoneheap;

they live among the rocks.

18 If they are destroyed from their place,

then it will deny them, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

19 See, these are their happy ways,

and out of the earth still others will spring.

11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is not a marsh?

Will reeds flourish without water?

12 While it is in its flower and is not plucked,

yet it withers before all grass.

13 So are the paths of all who forget God;

and the hope of the godless will perish,

14 whose confidence is cut off

and whose trust is a spider’s house.

15 He will lean himself against his house, but it will not stand;

he will take hold of it, but it will not endure.

16 He is thriving before the sun,

and his plant shoots spread over his garden.

17 His roots twine over a stone heap;

he sees a house of stone.

18 If he destroys him from his place,

then it deceives him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

19 Look, this is the joy of his way,

and from dust others will spring up.

11 Can grass grow tall where there isn’t any swamp?

Can plants grow well where there isn’t any water?

12 While they are still growing and haven’t been cut,

they dry up faster than grass does.

13 The same thing happens to everyone who forgets God.

The hope of ungodly people dies out.

14 What they trust in is very weak.

What they depend on is like a spider’s web.

15 A person leans on it, but it falls apart.

He holds on to it, but it gives way.

16 He is like a plant in the sunshine

that receives plenty of water.

It spreads its new growth all over the garden.

17 It wraps its roots around a pile of rocks.

It tries to find places to grow among the stones.

18 But when a plant is pulled up from its spot,

that place says, ‘I never saw you.’

19 The life of that plant is sure to dry up.

But from the same soil other plants will grow.

11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?

Can the rushes grow without water?

12 “While it is still green and not cut down,

Yet it withers before any other plant.

13 “So are the paths of all who forget God;

And the hope of the godless will perish,

14 Whose confidence is fragile,

And whose trust a spider’s web.

15 “He trusts in his house, but it does not stand;

He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.

16 “He thrives before the sun,

And his shoots spread out over his garden.

17 “His roots wrap around a rock pile,

He grasps a house of stones.

18 “If he is removed from his place,

Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’

19 “Behold, this is the joy of His way;

And out of the dust others will spring.