Job 5
1 “Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Therefore call, if there are any who will respond to you, and turn to one or another of the saints.
2 For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
Truly, anger condemns the foolish to death, and envy kills the petty.
3 I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
I have seen a fool with a strong root, and I have cursed his excellence without hesitation.
4 His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
His sons will be far from prosperity and will be crushed at the gate, and there will be none who can rescue them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
Their harvest, the starving will eat. The armed man will rob him, and the thirsty will drink his resources.
6 For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
Nothing on earth occurs without a reason, and sorrow does not rise from the earth.
7 Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
Man is born to labor, and the bird to fly.
8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
Therefore, because of this, I will beg the Lord, and place my eloquence before God.
9 the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
He does great and unfathomable and miraculous things without number.
10 He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
He gives rain over the face of the earth and irrigates all things with the waters.
11 He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
He places the humble on high and encourages the grieving towards health.
12 He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
He dispels the thoughts of the spiteful, lest their hands be able to complete what they had begun.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
He catches the wise in their cleverness and dissipates the counsel of the perverse.
14 They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.
They will encounter darkness in the daytime, and they will grope at midday just as in the night.
15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
Thereafter, he will act to save the needy from the sword of their mouth, and the poor from the hand of the violent.
16 So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
And there will be hope for those in need, for iniquity will diminish its speech.
17 Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
Blessed is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not reject the chastisement of the Lord.
18 For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
For he wounds and he cures; he strikes and his hands will heal.
19 He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
He will deliver you into six tribulations, and in the seventh, evil will not touch you.
20 In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
During famine, he will rescue you from death, and during war, from the hand of the sword.
21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.
You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you will not fear calamity when it arrives.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
In desolation and in famine, you will laugh, and you will not dread the beasts of the earth.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
For you are in harmony with the stones of the land, and the beasts of the earth will make peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.
And you will know that your home has peace, and, concerning your appearance, you will not sin.
25 You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.
Likewise, you will know that your offspring will be manifold and your progeny will be like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
You will enter the grave with abundance, just as a crop of wheat is gathered in its time.
27 Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”
Behold, this is just as we have found it, which you have heard; walk it through your mind.
