Job 5
1 Therfor clepe thou, if `ony is that schal answere thee, and turne thou to summe of seyntis.
“Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 Wrathfulnesse sleeth `a fonned man, and enuye sleeth a litil child.
For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.
3 Y siy a fool with stidefast rote, and Y curside his feirnesse anoon.
I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.
4 Hise sones schulen be maad fer fro helthe, and thei schulen be defoulid in the yate, and `noon schal be that schal delyuere hem.
His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.
5 Whos ripe corn an hungri man schal ete, and an armed man schal rauysche hym, and thei, that thirsten, schulen drynke hise richessis.
The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6 No thing is doon in erthe with out cause, and sorewe schal not go out of the erthe.
For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7 A man is borun to labour, and a brid to fliyt.
Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 Wherfor Y schal biseche the Lord, and Y schal sette my speche to my God.
However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—
9 That makith grete thingis, and that moun not be souyt out, and wondurful thingis with out noumbre.
the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.
10 Which yyueth reyn on the face of erthe, and moistith alle thingis with watris.
He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.
11 Which settith meke men an hiy, and reisith with helthe hem that morenen.
He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.
12 Which distrieth the thouytis of yuel willid men, that her hondis moun not fille tho thingis that thei bigunnen.
He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
13 Which takith cautelouse men in the felnesse `of hem, and distrieth the counsel of schrewis.
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
14 Bi dai thei schulen renne in to derknessis, and as in nyyt so thei schulen grope in myddai.
They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.
15 Certis God schal make saaf a nedi man fro the swerd of her mouth, and a pore man fro the hond of the violent, `ethir rauynour.
He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.
16 And hope schal be to a nedi man, but wickidnesse schal drawe togidere his mouth.
So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 Blessid is the man, which is chastisid of the Lord; therfor repreue thou not the blamyng of the Lord.
Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he woundith, and doith medicyn; he smytith, and hise hondis schulen make hool.
For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.
19 In sixe tribulaciouns he schal delyuere thee, and in the seuenthe tribulacioun yuel schal not touche thee.
He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.
20 In hungur he schal delyuere thee fro deeth, and in batel fro the power of swerd.
In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
21 Thou schalt be hid fro the scourge of tunge, and thou schalt not drede myseiste, `ethir wretchidnesse, whanne it cometh.
You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.
22 In distriyng maad of enemyes and in hungur thou schalt leiye, and thou schalt not drede the beestis of erthe.
You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.
23 But thi couenaunt schal be with the stonys of erthe, and beestis of erthe schulen be pesible to thee.
For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 And thou schalt wite, that thi tabernacle hath pees, and thou visitynge thi fairnesse schalt not do synne.
You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.
25 And thou schalt wite also, that thi seed schal be many fold, and thi generacioun schal be as an erbe of erthe.
You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26 In abundaunce thou schalt go in to the sepulcre, as an heep of wheete is borun in his tyme.
You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.
27 Lo! this is so, as we han souyt; which thing herd, trete thou in minde.
Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”
