Job 4:12–5:16

12  “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;

my ear received ithe whisper of it.

13  Amid jthoughts from kvisions of the night,

when kdeep sleep falls on men,

14  dread came upon me, and trembling,

which made all my bones shake.

15  A spirit glided past my face;

the hair of my flesh stood up.

16  It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance.

lA form was before my eyes;

there was silence, then I heard ma voice:

17  n‘Can mortal man be in the right before2 God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

18  Even in his servants ohe puts no trust,

and his angels he charges with error;

19  how much more those who dwell in houses of pclay,

whose foundation is in qthe dust,

who are crushed like3 rthe moth.

20  Between smorning and evening they are beaten to pieces;

they perish forever twithout anyone regarding it.

21  Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,

udo they not die, and that without wisdom?’

5 “Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?

To which of vthe holy ones will you turn?

2  Surely vexation kills the fool,

and jealousy slays the simple.

3  wI have seen the fool taking root,

but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.

4  His children are xfar from safety;

they are crushed in ythe gate,

and there is no one to deliver them.

5  The hungry eat his harvest,

and he takes it even out of thorns,1

and the thirsty pant2 after his3 wealth.

6  For affliction does not come from the dust,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

7  but man is zborn to trouble

as the sparks fly upward.

8  “As for me, I would seek God,

and to God would I commit my cause,

9  who adoes great things and bunsearchable,

cmarvelous things without number:

10  he gives drain on the earth

and sends waters on the fields;

11  he esets on high those who are lowly,

and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

12  He ffrustrates the devices of the crafty,

so that their hands achieve no success.

13  He gcatches the wise in their own craftiness,

and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.

14  They meet with darkness in the daytime

and hgrope at noonday as in the night.

15  But he isaves the needy from the sword of their mouth

and from the hand of the mighty.

16  So the poor have hope,

and jinjustice shuts her mouth.