Job 5

1 Call now, see if any will answer thee! And to which of the holy ones wilt thou look?

Call out now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 Verily grief destroyeth the fool, And wrath consumeth the weak man.

For anger kills the foolish man; jealousy kills the silly one.

3 I have seen an impious man taking root, But soon I cursed his habitation.

I have seen a foolish person taking root, but suddenly I cursed his home.

4 His children are far from safety; They are oppressed at the gate, and there is none to deliver them.

His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the city gate. There is no one to rescue them.

5 His harvest the hungry devour, Carrying it even through the thorns; And a snare gapeth after his substance.

The hungry eat up their harvest; they even take it from among the thorns. The thirsty pant for their wealth.

6 For affliction cometh not from the dust, Nor doth trouble spring up from the ground;

For difficulties do not come out from the soil; neither does trouble sprout from the ground.

7 Behold, man is born to trouble, As the sparks fly upward.

Instead, mankind is born for trouble, just as sparks fly upward.

8 I would look to God, And to God would I commit my cause,

But as for me, I would turn to God himself; to him I would commit my cause—

9 Who doeth great things and unsearchable; Yea, marvellous things without number;

he who does great and unsearchable things, marvelous things without number.

10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth water upon the fields;

He gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields.

11 Who placeth the lowly in high places, And restoreth the afflicted to prosperity;

He does this in order to set up on high those who are low; to raise to safety those who mourn.

12 Who disappointeth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprises;

He breaks the plans of the crafty people, so that their hands cannot achieve success.

13 Who taketh the wise in their own craftiness, And bringeth to nought the counsel of the artful.

He traps wise people in their own crafty actions; the plans of twisted people are hurried to their end.

14 They meet with darkness in the daytime; They grope at noon as if it were night.

They encounter darkness in the daytime, and grope at noonday as if it were night.

15 So he saveth the persecuted from their mouth; The oppressed from the hand of the mighty.

But he saves the poor person from the sword in their mouths and the needy person from the hand of mighty people.

16 So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

So the poor person has hope, and injustice shuts her own mouth.

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth; Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.

See, blessed is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

18 For he bruiseth, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and his hands make whole.

For he wounds and then binds up; he wounds and then his hands heal.

19 In six troubles will he deliver thee; Yea, in seven shall no evil touch thee.

He will rescue you out of six troubles; indeed, in seven troubles, no evil will touch you.

20 In famine he will redeem thee from death, And in war from the power of the sword.

In famine he will ransom you from death, and in war from the hands 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 you will not be afraid of destruction 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 you will not be afraid of 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 in your field, and the beasts of the field 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 in safety; you will visit your sheepfold and you will not miss anything.

25 Thou shalt see thy descendants numerous, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.

You will also know that your seed will be great, that your offspring will be like the grass on the ground.

26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in full age, As a shock of corn gathered in its season.

You will come to your grave at a full age, like a stack of grain bundles that goes up at its time.

27 Lo! this we have searched out; so it is: Hear it, and lay it up in thy mind!

See, we have examined this matter; it is like this; listen to it, and know it for yourself.”