Job 5
1 “Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?
2 For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
3 I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
6 For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
9 the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
10 He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
11 He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
12 He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the perverse is carried headlong.
14 They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.
They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
17 Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19 He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
20 In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.
Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of 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 thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24 You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.
And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
25 You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of grain cometh in in his season.
27 Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”
Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
