< Job 5 >
1 Pray, call, is there any to answer thee? And unto which of the holy ones dost thou turn?
Call now, if there is any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
2 For provocation slayeth the perverse, And envy putteth to death the simple,
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
3 I — I have seen the perverse taking root, And I mark his habitation straightway,
I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 Far are his sons from safety, And they are bruised in the gate, And there is no deliverer.
His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither [is there] any to deliver [them].
5 Whose harvest the hungry doth eat, And even from the thorns taketh it, And the designing swallowed their wealth.
Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
6 For sorrow cometh not forth from the dust, Nor from the ground springeth up misery.
Although affliction cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 For man to misery is born, And the sparks go high to fly.
Yet man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 Yet I — I inquire for God, And for God I give my word,
I would seek to God, and to God would I commit my cause:
9 Doing great things, and there is no searching. Wonderful, till there is no numbering.
Who doeth great things and unsearchable; wonderful things without number:
10 Who is giving rain on the face of the land, And is sending waters on the out-places.
Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
11 To set the low on a high place, And the mourners have been high [in] safety.
To set on high those that are low: that those who mourn may be exalted to safety.
12 Making void thoughts of the subtile, And their hands do not execute wisdom.
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform [their] enterprise.
13 Capturing the wise in their subtilty, And the counsel of wrestling ones was hastened,
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
14 By day they meet darkness, And as night — they grope at noon.
They meet with darkness in the day-time, and grope in the noon-day as in the night.
15 And He saveth the wasted from their mouth, And from a strong hand the needy,
But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
16 And there is hope to the poor, And perverseness hath shut her mouth.
So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
17 Lo, the happiness of mortal man, God doth reprove him: And the chastisement of the Mighty despise not,
Behold, happy [is] the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 For He doth pain, and He bindeth up, He smiteth, and His hands heal.
For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19 In six distresses He delivereth thee, And in seven evil striketh not on thee.
He will deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
20 In famine He hath redeemed thee from death, And in battle from the hands of the sword.
In famine he will redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
21 When the tongue scourgeth thou art hid, And thou art not afraid of destruction, When it cometh.
Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 At destruction and at hunger thou mockest, And of the beast of the earth, Thou art not afraid.
At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 (For with sons of the field [is] thy covenant, And the beast of the field Hath been at peace with thee.)
For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24 And thou hast known that thy tent [is] peace, And inspected thy habitation, and errest not,
And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle [will be] in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
25 And hast known that numerous [is] Thy seed, And thine offspring as the herb of the earth;
Thou shalt know also that thy seed [will be] great, and thy offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 Thou comest in full age unto the grave, As the going up of a stalk in its season.
Thou shalt come to [thy] grave in a full age, as a shock of corn cometh in in its season.
27 Lo, this — we searched it out — it [is] right, hearken; And thou, know for thyself!
Lo this, we have searched it, so it [is]; hear it, and know thou [it] for thy good.