Job 5:1–6:30
1 “Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?
And to which of the aholy ones will you turn?
2 “For aanger slays the foolish man,
And jealousy kills the simple.
3 “I have seen the afoolish taking root,
And I bcursed his abode immediately.
4 “His asons are far from safety,
They are even 1oppressed in the gate,
And there is no deliverer.
5 “1His harvest the hungry devour
And take it to a place of thorns,
And the 2aschemer is eager for their wealth.
6 “For aaffliction does not come from the dust,
Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
7 For aman is born for trouble,
As sparks fly upward.
8 “But as for me, I would aseek God,
And I would place my cause before God;
9 Who adoes great and unsearchable things,
1Wonders without number.
10 “He agives rain on the earth
And sends water on the fields,
11 So that aHe sets on high those who are lowly,
And those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 “He afrustrates the plotting of the shrewd,
So that their hands cannot attain success.
13 “He acaptures the wise by their own shrewdness,
And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.
14 “By day they ameet with darkness,
And grope at noon as in the night.
15 “But He saves from athe sword of their mouth,
And bthe poor from the hand of the mighty.
And aunrighteousness must shut its mouth.
17 “Behold, how ahappy is the man whom God reproves,
So do not despise the bdiscipline of 1the Almighty.
18 “For aHe inflicts pain, and 1gives relief;
He wounds, and His hands also heal.
19 “1From six troubles aHe will deliver you,
Even in seven bevil will not touch you.
20 “In afamine He will redeem you from death,
And bin war from the power of the sword.
21 “You will be ahidden from the scourge of the tongue,
bAnd you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.
22 “You will alaugh at violence and famine,
bAnd you will not be afraid of 1wild beasts.
23 “For you will be in league with the stones of the field,
And athe beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24 “You will know that your atent is secure,
For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.
25 “You will know also that your 1adescendants will be many,
And byour offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 “You will acome to the grave in full vigor,
Like the stacking of grain in its season.
27 “Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.
Hear it, and know for yourself.”
1 Then Job 1answered,
2 “aOh that my grief were actually weighed
And laid in the balances together with my calamity!
3 “For then it would be aheavier than the sand of the seas;
Therefore my words have been rash.
4 “For the aarrows of the Almighty are within me,
1Their bpoison my spirit drinks;
The cterrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 “Does the awild donkey bray over his grass,
Or does the ox low over his fodder?
6 “Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,
Or is there any taste in the 1white of an egg?
7 “My soul arefuses to touch them;
They are like loathsome food to me.
8 “Oh that my request might come to pass,
And that God would grant my longing!
9 “Would that God were awilling to crush me,
That He would loose His hand and cut me off!
10 “But it is still my consolation,
And I rejoice in unsparing pain,
That I ahave not 1denied the words of the Holy One.
11 “What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should 1aendure?
12 “Is my strength the strength of stones,
Or is my flesh bronze?
13 “Is it that my ahelp is not within me,
And that 1bdeliverance is driven from me?
14 “For the adespairing man there should be kindness from his friend;
So that he does not bforsake the 1fear of the Almighty.
15 “My brothers have acted adeceitfully like a 1wadi,
Like the torrents of 1wadis which vanish,
16 Which are turbid because of ice
And into which the snow 1melts.
17 “When athey become waterless, they 1are silent,
When it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18 “The 1paths of their course wind along,
They go up into nothing and perish.
19 “The caravans of aTema looked,
The travelers of bSheba hoped for them.
20 “They awere 1disappointed for they had trusted,
They came there and were confounded.
21 “Indeed, you have now become such,
aYou see a terror and are afraid.
22 “Have I said, ‘Give me something,’
Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’
23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?
24 “Teach me, and aI will be silent;
And show me how I have erred.
25 “How painful are honest words!
But what does your argument prove?
26 “Do you intend to reprove my words,
When the awords of one in despair belong to the wind?
27 “You would even acast lots for bthe orphans
And cbarter over your friend.
And see if I alie to your face.
29 “Desist now, let there be no injustice;
Even desist, amy righteousness is yet in it.