Job 5

1 Call, I pray thee—is there one to answer thee? Or, to which of the holy ones, wilt thou turn?

“Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 For, to the foolish man, death is caused by vexation, and, the simple one, is slain by jealousy.

For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.

3 I, have seen the foolish taking root, and then hath his home decayed, in a moment:

I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

4 His children are far removed from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is none to deliver:

His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender.

5 Whose harvest, the hungry, eateth up, and, even out of thorn hedges, he taketh it, and the snare gapeth for their substance.

The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

6 For sorrow, cometh not forth out of the dust, —nor, out of the ground, sprouteth trouble.

For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

7 Though, man, to trouble, were born, as, sparks, on high, do soar,

Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.

8 Yet indeed, I, would seek unto El, and, unto Elohim, would I set forth any cause: —

However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—

9 Who doeth great things, beyond all search, —Wondrous things, till they cannot be recounted;

the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.

10 Who giveth rain, upon the face of the earth, and sendeth forth waters, over the face of the open fields;

He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields.

11 Setting the lowly on high, and, mourners, are uplifted to safety;

He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.

12 Who doth frustrate the schemes of the crafty, that their hands cannot achieve abiding success;

He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.

13 Who captureth the wise in their own craftiness, yea the headlong counsel of the crooked:

He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.

14 By day, they encounter darkness, and, as though it were night, they grope at high noon.

They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night.

15 But he saveth from the sword, out of their mouth, and, out of the hand of the strong, the needy.

He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.

16 Thus to the poor hath come hope, and, perversity, hath shut her mouth.

So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.

17 Lo! how happy is the man whom God correcteth! Therefore, the chastening of the Almighty, do not thou refuse;

Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

18 For, he, woundeth that he may bind up, He smiteth through, that, his own hands, may heal.

For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.

19 In six troubles, he will rescue thee, and, in seven, there shall smite thee no misfortune:

He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.

20 In famine, he will ransom thee from death, and in battle from the power of the sword;

In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.

21 During the scourge of the tongue, shalt thou be hid, neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh;

You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.

22 At destruction and at hunger, shalt thou laugh, and, of the wild beast of the earth, be not thou afraid;

You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.

23 For, with the stones of the field, shall be thy covenant, and, the wild beast of the field, hath been made thy friend;

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 shalt know that, at peace, is thy tent, and shalt visit thy fold, and miss nothing;

You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.

25 And thou shalt know, that numerous is thy seed, and, thine offspring, like the young shoots of the field.

You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.

26 Thou shalt come, yet robust, to the grave, as a stack of sheaves mounteth up in its season.

You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.

27 Lo! as for this, we have searched it out—so, it is, Hear it, and know, thou, for thyself.

Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”