< Job 5 >

1 Call now if there be any that will answer thee, and turn to some of the saints.
Call if you want, but who is going to answer you? Which angel are you going to turn to?
2 Anger indeed killeth the foolish, and envy slayeth the little one.
Surely anger slays the fool and jealousy kills the simple.
3 I have seen a fool with a strong root, and I cursed his beauty immediately.
I have seen a fool growing strong, but I immediately cursed his house.
4 His children shall be far from safety, and shall be destroyed in the gate, and there shall be none to deliver them.
His sons are never safe; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.
5 Whose harvest the hungry shall eat, and the armed man shall take him by violence, and the thirsty shall drink up his riches.
The hungry eat everything he has harvested, taking even that protected by a thorn hedge, while others look to steal his wealth.
6 Nothing upon earth is done without a voice cause, and sorrow doth not spring out of the ground.
For evil doesn't come from the dust; neither does trouble grow from the earth.
7 Man is born to labour and the bird to fly.
But human beings are born for trouble just as certainly as sparks from a fire fly upwards.
8 Wherefore I will pray to the Lord, and address my speech to God:
If it were me, I would go to God and put my case before him.
9 Who doth great things and unsearchable and wonderful things without number:
He is the one who does amazing, incredible things; miracles that can't be counted!
10 Who giveth rain upon the face of the earth, and watereth all things with waters:
He gives rain to the earth and sends water to the fields.
11 Who setteth up the humble on high, and comforteth with health those that mourn.
He exalts the humble, and rescues those who mourn.
12 Who bringeth to nought the designs of the malignant, so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had begun:
He frustrates the plans of the cunning so that they are unsuccessful.
13 Who catcheth the wise in their craftiness, and disappointeth the counsel of the wicked:
He traps the wise in their own clever thinking, and the schemes of twisted people are cut short.
14 They shall meet with darkness in the day, and grope at noonday as in the night.
In the daytime they're in the dark, and they stumble around at noon like it's night.
15 But he shall save the needy from the sword of their mouth, and the poor from the hand of the violent.
But God is the one who saves from their cutting remarks, and the poor from the actions of the powerful.
16 And to the needy there shall he hope, but iniquity shall draw in her mouth.
As a result those who are helpless have hope, and the wicked have to shut their mouths!
17 Blessed is the mall whom God correcteth: refuse not therefore the chastising of the lord:
See how happy is the person God corrects—so don't despise the Almighty's discipline.
18 For he woundeth, and cureth: he striketh, and his hands shall heal.
For he causes pain but he provides relief; he wounds but his hands heal.
19 In six troubles he shall deliver thee, and in the seventh, evil shall not touch thee.
He will save you from many disasters; a multitude of evils will not affect you.
20 In famine he shall deliver thee from death: and in battle, from the hand of the sword.
In times of famine he will rescue you from death, and in times of war he will save you from the power of the sword.
21 Thou shalt he hidden from the scourge of the tongue: and thou shalt not fear calamity when it cometh.
You will be protected from sharp-tongued slander; and when violence comes you will not be afraid.
22 In destruction and famine then shalt laugh: and thou shalt not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
You will laugh at violence and famine; you won't be afraid of wild animals—
23 But thou shalt have a covenant with the stones of the lands, and the beasts of the earth shall be at pence with thee.
for you will be at peace with the stones of the field and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle is in peace, and visiting thy beauty thou shalt not sin.
You will be certain that your home is safe, for you will go to where you live and find nothing missing.
25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be multiplied, and thy offspring like the grass of the earth.
You will also be sure that you will have many children; your descendants will be like the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt enter into the grave in abundance, as a heap of wheat is brought in its season.
You will live to a ripe old age like a sheaf of grain when it is harvested.
27 Behold, this is even so, as we have searched out: which thou having heard, consider it thoroughly in thy mind.
Look, we've examined it, and it's true! Listen to what I'm saying and apply it to yourself!”

< Job 5 >