Job 5
1 “Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
“Job, [it is okay that you] continue to cry out for someone to help you, but [I am certain that] [RHQ] no angel will come to help you!
2 For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
Foolish people die because of being (resentful/very angry at someone); people who are easily deceived are destroyed by their being jealous [of others].
3 I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
I have seen foolish people who seemed to be successful/prosperous, but suddenly [they experienced disaster/trouble because] someone cursed their home.
4 His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
Their sons are never safe; they (lose their case/are condemned) when someone (takes them to court/sues them), because there is no one to defend them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
Hungry people [steal] the crops that foolish people harvest, [and] eat [those crops]; they even steal the crops that grow among thorns, and greedy people take away the wealth of foolish people.
6 For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
But evil circumstances/sufferings are not produced by the soil; troubles do not grow up from the ground.
7 Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
People have troubles from the time that they are born just as surely as sparks shoot up [from a fire].
8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
[“If I were suffering like you are, ] I would ask God [for help] and tell him (what I am complaining about/about my suffering).
9 the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
He does great things, things that we cannot understand; we cannot even count the marvelous things that he does.
10 He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
He sends rain on the ground; he sends water on our fields.
11 He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
He exalts those who are humble, and causes those who mourn to be joyful (OR, safe, prosperous).
12 He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
He causes crafty/cunning people to not be able to do what they plan to do, with the result that they achieve nothing.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
He causes people who [think that they] [IRO] are wise to be trapped by the cunning things they try to do, with the result that they do not succeed.
14 They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.
[It is as though] even in the daytime they are covered by darkness, and grope around [trying to find the road] at noontime like people do at night.
15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
But God saves helpless people from being harmed by what [wicked people] say [MTY], he saves needy people from being injured by [MTY] powerful people.
16 So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
So, poor people confidently expect [that good things will happen to them] but God causes wicked [people] to stop talking.
17 Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
“But those whom God corrects/rebukes are happy; so do not despise/dislike it when [God] who is all-powerful disciplines you.
18 For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
He wounds people, but then he puts bandages on those wounds; he hurts people, but he [SYN] also heals them.
19 He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
He will rescue you many times from your troubles, with the result that nothing evil will happen to you.
20 In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
When there is a famine, he will not allow you to die, and when there is a war, you will not be killed [MTY].
21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.
God will protect you when people slander [MTY] you; you will not be afraid when many things [around you] are destroyed.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
You will [be able to] laugh/scoff when things are destroyed and when there is famine, and you will not be afraid of wild animals.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
You will not worry about [having big] rocks in your fields [that will make plowing difficult], and you will not worry about [being attacked by] wild animals there.
24 You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.
In your tent, you will know that things will go well for you, and when you look at your livestock, you will see that (they are all there/none of them is missing).
25 You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.
You will be sure that you will have many descendants, who will be as numerous as blades of grass.
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
You will become very old before you die, like sheaves of grain continue to grow until it is time to harvest them.
27 Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”
[“My friends and I] have thought carefully about these things, and [we know that] they are true, so pay attention to what I have said!”
