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 thee? And unto which of the holy ones dost thou turn?

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

For provocation slayeth the perverse, And envy putteth to death the simple,

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

I — I have seen the perverse taking root, And I mark his habitation straightway,

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

Far are his sons 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 doth eat, And even from the thorns taketh it, 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 cometh not forth from the dust, Nor from the ground springeth up misery.

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

For man to misery is born, 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 — 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, till 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 subtile, 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 subtilty, And the counsel of wrestling ones was hastened,

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.

And He saveth the wasted from their mouth, And from a strong hand the needy,

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

And there is hope to the poor, And perverseness hath shut her mouth.

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

Lo, the happiness of mortal man, God doth reprove him: And the chastisement of the Mighty despise not,

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

For He doth pain, and He bindeth up, He smiteth, 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 delivereth thee, And in seven evil striketh not on thee.

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

In famine He hath redeemed thee 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 scourgeth thou art hid, And thou art not afraid of destruction, When it cometh.

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 thou mockest, And of the beast of the earth, Thou art 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] thy covenant, And the beast of the field Hath been at peace with thee.)

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

And thou hast known that thy tent [is] peace, And inspected thy habitation, and errest not,

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

And hast known that numerous [is] Thy seed, And thine 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.

Thou comest in full age unto 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.

Lo, this — we searched it out — it [is] right, hearken; And thou, know for thyself!