² The Lord was looking down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who had wisdom, searching after God.

¹³ The Lord is looking down from heaven; he sees all the sons of men;

¹⁴ From his house he keeps watch on all who are living on the earth;

¹² And God, looking on the earth, saw that it was evil: for the way of all flesh had become evil on the earth.

⁶ And without faith it is not possible to be well-pleasing to him, for it is necessary for anyone who comes to God to have the belief that God is, and that he is a rewarder of all those who make a serious search for him.

¹¹ Not one who has the knowledge of what is right, not one who is a searcher after God;

³ But still there is some good in you, for you have put away the wood pillars out of the land, and have given your heart to the worship of God.

⁴ Whoever is simple, let him come in here; and to him who has no sense, she says:

¹⁶ Whoever is simple, let him come in here: and to him who is without sense, she says:

¹⁰ Till a number are tested and make themselves clean; and the evil-doers will do evil; for not one of the evil-doers will have knowledge; but all will be made clear to those who are wise.

¹⁵ For the heart of this people has become fat and their ears are slow in hearing and their eyes are shut; for fear that they might see with their eyes and give hearing with their ears and become wise in their hearts and be turned again to me, so that I might make them well.

⁵⁰ Till the Lord's eye is turned on me, till he sees my trouble from heaven.

²² For my people are foolish, they have no knowledge of me; they are evil-minded children, without sense, all of them: they are wise in evil-doing, but have no knowledge of doing good.

¹ O let the heavens be broken open and come down, so that the mountains may be shaking before you, As when fire puts the brushwood in flames, or as when water is boiling from the heat of the fire: to make your name feared by your haters, so that the nations may be shaking before you;

¹⁵ Let your eyes be looking down from heaven, from your holy and beautiful house: where is your deep feeling, the working of your power? do not keep back the moving of your pity and your mercies:

⁶ Make search for the Lord while he is there, make prayer to him while he is near:

²¹ I will go down now, and see if their acts are as bad as they seem from the outcry which has come to me; and if they are not, I will see.

¹⁹ Who, with all his heart, is turned to God the Lord, the God of his fathers, even if he has not been made clean after the rules of the holy place.

³² The poor will see it and be glad: you who are lovers of God, let your hearts have life.

⁵ They have no knowledge or sense; they go about in the dark: all the bases of the earth are moved.

⁶ A man without sense has no knowledge of this; and a foolish man may not take it in.

¹⁹ For from his holy place the Lord has seen, looking down on the earth from heaven;

²⁰ Hearing the cry of the prisoner, making free those for whom death is ordered;

⁴³ Let the wise give thought to these things, and see the mercies of the Lord.

⁹ Then you will have knowledge of righteousness and right acting, and upright behaviour, even of every good way.

⁵ Become expert in reason, O you simple ones; you foolish ones, take training to heart.

¹⁹ And when they say to you, Make request for us to those who have control of spirits, and to those wise in secret arts, who make hollow bird-like sounds; is it not right for a people to make request to their gods, to make request for the living to the dead?

¹¹ When its branches are dry they will be broken off; the women will come and put fire to them: for it is a foolish people; for this cause he who made them will have no mercy on them, and he whose work they are will not have pity on them.

⁵ And the Lord came down to see the town and the tower which the children of men were building.