Job 5
1 Call if you want, but who is going to answer you? Which angel are you going to turn to?
Therefore call, if there are any who will respond to you, and turn to one or another of the saints.
2 Surely anger slays the fool and jealousy kills the simple.
Truly, anger condemns the foolish to death, and envy kills the petty.
3 I have seen a fool growing strong, but I immediately cursed his house.
I have seen a fool with a strong root, and I have cursed his excellence without hesitation.
4 His sons are never safe; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.
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 eat everything he has harvested, taking even that protected by a thorn hedge, while others look to steal his wealth.
Their harvest, the starving will eat. The armed man will rob him, and the thirsty will drink his resources.
6 For evil doesn't come from the dust; neither does trouble grow from the earth.
Nothing on earth occurs without a reason, and sorrow does not rise from the earth.
7 But human beings are born for trouble just as certainly as sparks from a fire fly upwards.
Man is born to labor, and the bird to fly.
8 If it were me, I would go to God and put my case before him.
Therefore, because of this, I will beg the Lord, and place my eloquence before God.
9 He is the one who does amazing, incredible things; miracles that can't be counted!
He does great and unfathomable and miraculous things without number.
10 He gives rain to the earth and sends water to the fields.
He gives rain over the face of the earth and irrigates all things with the waters.
11 He exalts the humble, and rescues those who mourn.
He places the humble on high and encourages the grieving towards health.
12 He frustrates the plans of the cunning so that they are unsuccessful.
He dispels the thoughts of the spiteful, lest their hands be able to complete what they had begun.
13 He traps the wise in their own clever thinking, and the schemes of twisted people are cut short.
He catches the wise in their cleverness and dissipates the counsel of the perverse.
14 In the daytime they're in the dark, and they stumble around at noon like it's night.
They will encounter darkness in the daytime, and they will grope at midday just as in the night.
15 But God is the one who saves from their cutting remarks, and the poor from the actions 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 As a result those who are helpless have hope, and the wicked have to shut their mouths!
And there will be hope for those in need, for iniquity will diminish its speech.
17 See how happy is the person God corrects—so don't despise the Almighty's discipline.
Blessed is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not reject the chastisement of the Lord.
18 For he causes pain but he provides relief; he wounds but his hands heal.
For he wounds and he cures; he strikes and his hands will heal.
19 He will save you from many disasters; a multitude of evils will not affect you.
He will deliver you into six tribulations, and in the seventh, evil will not touch you.
20 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.
During famine, he will rescue you from death, and during war, from the hand of the sword.
21 You will be protected from sharp-tongued slander; and when violence comes you will not be afraid.
You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you will not fear calamity when it arrives.
22 You will laugh at violence and famine; you won't be afraid of wild animals—
In desolation and in famine, you will laugh, and you will not dread the beasts of the earth.
23 for you will be at peace 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 be certain that your home is safe, for you will go to where you live and find nothing missing.
And you will know that your home has peace, and, concerning your appearance, you will not sin.
25 You will also be sure that you will have many children; your descendants will be 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 live to a ripe old age like a sheaf of grain when it is harvested.
You will enter the grave with abundance, just as a crop of wheat is gathered in its time.
27 Look, we've examined it, and it's true! Listen to what I'm saying and apply it to yourself!”
Behold, this is just as we have found it, which you have heard; walk it through your mind.
