8 Look for a moment at ancient wisdom;consider the truths our ancestors learnt.
9 Our life is short, we know nothing at all;we pass like shadows across the earth.
10 But let the wise ancestors teach you;listen to what they had to say:
11 “Reeds can't grow where there is no water;they are never found outside a swamp.
12 If the water dries up, they are the first to wither,while still too small to be cut and used.
13 Godless men are like those reeds;their hope is gone, once God is forgotten.
14 They trust a thread — a spider's web.