Job 5
1 Call out now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
“Job, [it is okay that you] continue to cry out for someone to help you, but [I am certain that] [RHQ] no angel will come to help you!
2 For anger kills the foolish man; jealousy kills the silly one.
Foolish people die because of being (resentful/very angry at someone); people who are easily deceived are destroyed by their being jealous [of others].
3 I have seen a foolish person taking root, but suddenly I cursed his home.
I have seen foolish people who seemed to be successful/prosperous, but suddenly [they experienced disaster/trouble because] someone cursed their home.
4 His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the city gate. There is no one to rescue them.
Their sons are never safe; they (lose their case/are condemned) when someone (takes them to court/sues them), because there is 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.
Hungry people [steal] the crops that foolish people harvest, [and] eat [those crops]; they even steal the crops that grow among thorns, and greedy people take away the wealth of foolish people.
6 For difficulties do not come out from the soil; neither does trouble sprout from the ground.
But evil circumstances/sufferings are not produced by the soil; troubles do not grow up from the ground.
7 Instead, mankind is born for trouble, just as sparks fly upward.
People have troubles from the time that they are born just as surely as sparks shoot up [from a fire].
8 But as for me, I would turn to God himself; to him I would commit my cause—
[“If I were suffering like you are, ] I would ask God [for help] and tell him (what I am complaining about/about my suffering).
9 he who does great and unsearchable things, marvelous things without number.
He does great things, things that we cannot understand; we cannot even count the marvelous things that he does.
10 He gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields.
He sends rain on the ground; he sends water on our 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 those who are humble, and causes those who mourn to be joyful (OR, safe, prosperous).
12 He breaks the plans of the crafty people, so that their hands cannot achieve success.
He causes crafty/cunning people to not be able to do what they plan to do, with the result that they achieve nothing.
13 He traps wise people in their own crafty actions; the plans of twisted people are hurried to their end.
He causes people who [think that they] [IRO] are wise to be trapped by the cunning things they try to do, with the result that they do not succeed.
14 They encounter darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as if it were night.
[It is as though] even in the daytime they are covered by darkness, and grope around [trying to find the road] at noontime like people do at 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 saves helpless people from being harmed by what [wicked people] say [MTY], he saves needy people from being injured by [MTY] powerful people.
16 So the poor person has hope, and injustice shuts her own mouth.
So, poor people confidently expect [that good things will happen to them] but God causes wicked [people] to stop talking.
17 See, blessed is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
“But those whom God corrects/rebukes are happy; so do not despise/dislike it when [God] who is all-powerful disciplines you.
18 For he wounds and then binds up; he wounds and then his hands heal.
He wounds people, but then he puts bandages on those wounds; he hurts people, but he [SYN] also heals them.
19 He will rescue you out of six troubles; indeed, in seven troubles, no evil will touch you.
He will rescue you many times from your troubles, with the result that nothing evil will happen to you.
20 In famine he will ransom you from death, and in war from the hands of the sword.
When there is a famine, he will not allow you to die, and when there is a war, you will not be killed [MTY].
21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue; and you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes.
God will protect you when people slander [MTY] you; you will not be afraid when many things [around you] are destroyed.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine, and you will not be afraid of beasts of the earth.
You will [be able to] laugh/scoff when things are destroyed and when there is famine, and you will not 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.
You will not worry about [having big] rocks in your fields [that will make plowing difficult], and you will not worry about [being attacked by] wild animals there.
24 You will know that your tent is in safety; you will visit your sheepfold and you will not miss anything.
In your tent, you will know that things will go well for you, and when you look at your livestock, you will see that (they are all there/none of them is 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 be sure that you will have many descendants, who will be as numerous as blades of grass.
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 become very old before you die, like sheaves of grain continue to grow until it is time to harvest them.
27 See, we have examined this matter; it is like this; listen to it, and know it for yourself.”
[“My friends and I] have thought carefully about these things, and [we know that] they are true, so pay attention to what I have said!”
