Job 5
1 Call now, see if any will answer thee! And to which of the holy ones wilt thou look?
“Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 Verily grief destroyeth the fool, And wrath consumeth the weak man.
For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
3 I have seen an impious man taking root, But soon I cursed his habitation.
I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
4 His children are far from safety; They are oppressed at the gate, and there is none to deliver them.
His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
5 His harvest the hungry devour, Carrying it even through the thorns; And a snare gapeth after his substance.
The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6 For affliction cometh not from the dust, Nor doth trouble spring up from the ground;
For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7 Behold, man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward.
Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 I would look to God, And to God would I commit my cause,
However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
9 Who doeth great things and unsearchable; Yea, marvellous things without number;
the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth water upon the fields;
He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
11 Who placeth the lowly in high places, And restoreth the afflicted to prosperity;
He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
12 Who disappointeth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprises;
He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
13 Who taketh the wise in their own craftiness, And bringeth to nought the counsel of the artful.
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime; They grope at noon as if it were night.
They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.
15 So he saveth the persecuted from their mouth; The oppressed from the hand of the mighty.
He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
16 So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth; Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he bruiseth, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and his hands make whole.
For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
19 In six troubles will he deliver thee; Yea, in seven shall no evil touch thee.
He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
20 In famine he will redeem thee from death, And in war from the power of the sword.
In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be safe from the scourge of the tongue, And shalt not be afraid of destruction, when it cometh.
You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.
22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, And of the wild beasts of the land shalt thou not be afraid.
You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; Yea, the beasts of the forest shall be at peace with thee.
For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 Thou shalt find that thy tent is in peace; Thou shalt visit thy dwelling, and not be disappointed.
You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.
25 Thou shalt see thy descendants numerous, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in full age, As a shock of corn gathered in its season.
You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
27 Lo! this we have searched out; so it is: Hear it, and lay it up in thy mind!
Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”
