Job 5

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

“Pray, call, is there any to answer you? And to which of the holy ones do you turn?

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

For provocation slays the perverse, And envy puts to death the simple,

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

I have seen the perverse taking root, And I mark his habitation straight away,

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, And they are bruised in the gate, And there is no deliverer.

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

Whose harvest the hungry eat, And even take it from the thorns, And the designing swallowed their wealth.

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

For sorrow does not come forth from the dust, Nor does misery spring up from the ground.

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

For man is born to misery, And the sparks go high to fly.

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

Yet I inquire for God, And for God I give my word,

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

Doing great things, and there is no searching. Wonderful, until there is no numbering.

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

Who is giving rain on the face of the land, And is sending waters on the out-places.

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

To set the low on a high place, And the mourners have been high [in] safety.

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

Making void thoughts of the cunning, And their hands do not execute wisdom.

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

Capturing the wise in their subtlety, And the counsel of wrestling ones was hurried,

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

By day they meet darkness, And as night—they grope at noon.

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 a strong hand,

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

And there is hope for the poor, And perverseness has shut her mouth.

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

Behold, the blessedness of mortal man, God reproves him: And do not despise the discipline of the Mighty,

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

For He pains, and He binds up, He strikes, and His hands heal.

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

In six distresses He delivers you, And in seven evil does not strike on you.

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

In famine He has redeemed you from death, And in battle from the hands of the sword.

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

When the tongue scourges you are hid, And you are not afraid of destruction, When it comes.

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

At destruction and at hunger you mock, And of the beast of the earth, You are not afraid.

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 with sons of the field [is] your covenant, And the beast of the field Has been at peace with you.)

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

And you have known that your tent [is] peace, And inspected your habitation, and do not err,

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

And have known that your seed [is] numerous, And your offspring as the herb of the earth;

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

You come in full age to the grave, As the going up of a stalk in its season.

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

Behold, this—we searched it out—it [is] right, listen; And you, know for yourself!”