1 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 Resentment kills a fool,

and envy slays the simple.

3 I myself have seen a fool taking root,

but suddenly his house was cursed.

4 His children are far from safety,

crushed in court without a defender.

5 The hungry consume his harvest,

taking it even from among thorns,

and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

6 For hardship does not spring from the soil,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground.

7 Yet man is born to trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.

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

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 Surely vexation kills the fool,

and jealousy slays the simple.

3 I have seen the fool taking root,

but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.

4 His children are far from safety;

they are crushed in the gate,

and there is no one to deliver them.

5 The hungry eat his harvest,

and he takes it even out of thorns,

and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

6 For affliction does not come from the dust,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

7 but man is born to trouble

as the sparks fly upward.

1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; And to which of the saints wilt thou turn? 2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, And envy slayeth the silly one. 3 I have seen the foolish taking root: But suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4 His children are far from safety, And they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them. 5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, And taketh it even out of the thorns, And the robber swalloweth up their substance. 6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 7 Yet man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward.

1 “Cry for help, but will anyone answer you?

Which of the angels will help you?

2 Surely resentment destroys the fool,

and jealousy kills the simple.

3 I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment,

but then comes sudden disaster.

4 Their children are abandoned far from help;

they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.

5 The hungry devour their harvest,

even when it is guarded by brambles.

The thirsty pant after their wealth.

6 But evil does not spring from the soil,

and trouble does not sprout from the earth.

7 People are born for trouble

as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.

1 “Call out now; Is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 For wrath kills a foolish man,

And envy slays a simple one.

3 I have seen the foolish taking root,

But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

4 His sons are far from safety,

They are crushed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

5 Because the hungry eat up his harvest,

Taking it even from the thorns,

And a snare snatches their substance.

6 For affliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble spring from the ground;

7 Yet man is born to trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.

1 “Call if you want to, Job, but no one will answer you.

You can’t turn to any of the holy ones.

2 Anger kills the fool,

and jealousy slays the stupid.

3 I have seen a fool succeed,

but I cursed his home immediately.

4 His children are far from safety

and are crushed in court with no defense.

5 The hungry eat his harvest,

even taking what grew among the thorns,

and thirsty people want his wealth.

6 Hard times do not come up from the ground,

and trouble does not grow from the earth.

7 People produce trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.

1 Call now; is there any that will answer thee?

And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?

2 For vexation killeth the foolish man,

And jealousy slayeth the silly one.

3 I have seen the foolish taking root:

But suddenly I cursed his habitation.

4 His children are far from safety,

And they are crushed in the gate,

Neither is there any to deliver them:

5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up,

And taketh it even out of the thorns;

And the snare gapeth for their substance.

6 For affliction cometh not forth from the dust,

Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

7 But man is born unto trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.

1 Call, I pray thee! Is there any that answereth thee? and to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn? 2 For vexation killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the simple. 3 I myself saw the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer: 5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh even out of the thorns; and the snare gapeth for his substance.

6 For evil cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 7 For man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards.

1 “Cry out! 

Is there anyone to answer you? 

To which of the holy ones will you turn? 

2 Certainly, anger kills a stubborn fool, 

and jealousy murders a gullible person. 

3 I have seen a stubborn fool take root, 

but I quickly cursed his house. 

4 His children are far from help. 

They are crushed at the city gate, 

and no one is there to rescue them. 

5 What a stubborn fool gathers, hungry people eat. 

They take it even from among the thorns, 

and thirsty people pant after his wealth. 

6 Certainly, sorrow doesn’t come from the soil, 

and trouble doesn’t sprout from the ground. 

7 But a person is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly up ⸤from a fire⸥. 

1 Call out if you please. Will anyone answer you?

Which of the holy ones will you turn to?

2 For anger kills a fool,

and jealousy slays the gullible.

3 I have seen a fool taking root,

but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.

4 His children are far from safety.

They are crushed at the city gate,

with no one to rescue them.

5 The hungry consume his harvest,

even taking it out of the thorns.

The thirsty pant for his children’s wealth.

6 For distress does not grow out of the soil,

and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

7 But mankind is born for trouble

as surely as sparks fly upward.

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

To which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 Surely vexation kills the fool,

and jealousy slays the simple.

3 I have seen fools taking root,

but suddenly I cursed their dwelling.

4 Their children are far from safety,

they are crushed in the gate,

and there is no one to deliver them.

5 The hungry eat their harvest,

and they take it even out of the thorns;

and the thirsty pant after their wealth.

6 For misery does not come from the earth,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground;

7 but human beings are born to trouble

just as sparks fly upward.

1 “Call now, is there anyone answering you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

2 For vexation will slay the fool,

and jealousy will kill the simple.

3 I have seen a fool taking root,

but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.

4 His children are far from deliverance,

and they are crushed in the gate,

and there is no deliverer—

5 whose harvest the hungry eats,

and he takes it from behind the thorns;

and the thirsty pants after their wealth.

6 Indeed, mischief does not come from the dust,

and trouble does not sprout from the earth.

7 But a human being is born to trouble,

and they soar aloft like sparks.

1 Eliphaz continued,

“Call out if you want to, Job.

But who will answer you?

Which one of the holy angels will you turn to?

2 Anger kills foolish people.

Jealousy destroys those who are childish.

3 I saw that foolish people were having success.

But suddenly a curse came down on their houses.

4 Their children aren’t safe at all.

They lose their case in court.

No one speaks up for them.

5 Hungry people eat up the crops of those who are foolish.

They even take the food that grows among thorns.

Thirsty people long for the wealth of the foolish.

6 Hard times don’t just grow out of the soil.

Trouble doesn’t jump out of the ground.

7 People are born to have trouble.

And that’s just as sure as sparks fly up.