Job 5
1 Call out now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Call if you want, but who is going to answer you? Which angel are you going to turn to?
2 For anger kills the foolish man; jealousy kills the silly one.
Surely anger slays the fool and jealousy kills the simple.
3 I have seen a foolish person taking root, but suddenly I cursed his home.
I have seen a fool growing strong, but I immediately cursed his house.
4 His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the city gate. There is no one to rescue them.
His sons are never safe; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.
5 The hungry eat up their harvest; they even take it from among the thorns. The thirsty pant for their wealth.
The hungry eat everything he has harvested, taking even that protected by a thorn hedge, while others look to steal his wealth.
6 For difficulties do not come out from the soil; neither does trouble sprout from the ground.
For evil doesn't come from the dust; neither does trouble grow from the earth.
7 Instead, mankind is born for trouble, just as sparks fly upward.
But human beings are born for trouble just as certainly as sparks from a fire fly upwards.
8 But as for me, I would turn to God himself; to him I would commit my cause—
If it were me, I would go to God and put my case before him.
9 he who does great and unsearchable things, marvelous things without number.
He is the one who does amazing, incredible things; miracles that can't be counted!
10 He gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields.
He gives rain to the earth and sends water to the fields.
11 He does this in order to set up on high those who are low; to raise to safety those who mourn.
He exalts the humble, and rescues those who mourn.
12 He breaks the plans of the crafty people, so that their hands cannot achieve success.
He frustrates the plans of the cunning so that they are unsuccessful.
13 He traps wise people in their own crafty actions; the plans of twisted people are hurried to their end.
He traps the wise in their own clever thinking, and the schemes of twisted people are cut short.
14 They encounter darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as if it were night.
In the daytime they're in the dark, and they stumble around at noon like it's night.
15 But he saves the poor person from the sword in their mouths and the needy person from the hand of mighty people.
But God is the one who saves from their cutting remarks, and the poor from the actions of the powerful.
16 So the poor person has hope, and injustice shuts her own mouth.
As a result those who are helpless have hope, and the wicked have to shut their mouths!
17 See, blessed is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
See how happy is the person God corrects—so don't despise the Almighty's discipline.
18 For he wounds and then binds up; he wounds and then his hands heal.
For he causes pain but he provides relief; he wounds but his hands heal.
19 He will rescue you out of six troubles; indeed, in seven troubles, no evil will touch you.
He will save you from many disasters; a multitude of evils will not affect you.
20 In famine he will ransom you from death, and in war from the hands 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 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue; and you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.
You will be protected from sharp-tongued slander; and when violence comes you will not be afraid.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine, and you will not be afraid of beasts of the earth.
You will laugh at violence and famine; you won't be afraid of wild animals—
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones in your field, and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
for you will be at peace with the stones of the field and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is in safety; you will visit your sheepfold and you will not miss anything.
You will be certain that your home is safe, for you will go to where you live and find nothing missing.
25 You will also know that your seed will be great, that your offspring will be like the grass on the ground.
You will also be sure that you will have many children; your descendants will be like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to your grave at a full age, like a stack of grain bundles that goes up at its time.
You will live to a ripe old age like a sheaf of grain when it is harvested.
27 See, we have examined this matter; it is like this; listen to it, and know it for yourself.”
Look, we've examined it, and it's true! Listen to what I'm saying and apply it to yourself!”
