Job 5
1 “Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Pray, call, is there any to answer thee? And unto which of the holy ones dost thou turn?
2 For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
For provocation slayeth the perverse, And envy putteth to death the simple,
3 I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
I — I have seen the perverse taking root, And I mark his habitation straightway,
4 His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
Far are his sons from safety, And they are bruised in the gate, And there is no deliverer.
5 The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
Whose harvest the hungry doth eat, And even from the thorns taketh it, And the designing swallowed their wealth.
6 For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
For sorrow cometh not forth from the dust, Nor from the ground springeth up misery.
7 Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
For man to misery is born, And the sparks go high to fly.
8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
Yet I — I inquire for God, And for God I give my word,
9 the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
Doing great things, and there is no searching. Wonderful, till there is no numbering.
10 He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
Who is giving rain on the face of the land, And is sending waters on the out-places.
11 He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
To set the low on a high place, And the mourners have been high [in] safety.
12 He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
Making void thoughts of the subtile, And their hands do not execute wisdom.
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
Capturing the wise in their subtilty, And the counsel of wrestling ones was hastened,
14 They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.
By day they meet darkness, And as night — they grope at noon.
15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
And He saveth the wasted from their mouth, And from a strong hand the needy,
16 So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
And there is hope to the poor, And perverseness hath shut her mouth.
17 Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
Lo, the happiness of mortal man, God doth reprove him: And the chastisement of the Mighty despise not,
18 For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
For He doth pain, and He bindeth up, He smiteth, and His hands heal.
19 He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
In six distresses He delivereth thee, And in seven evil striketh not on thee.
20 In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
In famine He hath redeemed thee from death, And in battle from the hands of the sword.
21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.
When the tongue scourgeth thou art hid, And thou art not 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 at hunger thou mockest, And of the beast of the earth, Thou art not afraid.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
(For with sons of the field [is] thy covenant, And the beast of the field Hath been at peace with thee.)
24 You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.
And thou hast known that thy tent [is] peace, And inspected thy habitation, and errest not,
25 You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.
And hast known that numerous [is] Thy seed, And thine offspring as the herb of the earth;
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
Thou comest in full age unto the grave, As the going up of a stalk in its season.
27 Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”
Lo, this — we searched it out — it [is] right, hearken; And thou, know for thyself!
