Chapter 5

God Is Just

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.

16 “So the helpless has hope,

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.”

Chapter 6

Job’s Friends Are No Help

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.

28 “Now please look at me,

And see if I alie to your face.

29 “Desist now, let there be no injustice;

Even desist, amy righteousness is yet in it.

30 “Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot amy palate discern 1calamities?

Chapter 7

Job’s Life Seems Futile

1 “1Is not man aforced to labor on earth,

And are not his days like the days of ba hired man?

2 “As a slave who pants for the shade,

And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,

3 So am I allotted months of vanity,

And anights of trouble are appointed me.

4 “When I alie down I say,

‘When shall I arise?’

But the night continues,

And I am 1continually tossing until dawn.

5 “My aflesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,

My skin hardens and runs.

6 “My days are aswifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And come to an end bwithout hope.

7 “Remember that my life ais but breath;

My eye will bnot again see good.

8 “The aeye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;

Your eyes will be on me, but bI will not be.

9 “When a acloud vanishes, it is gone,

So bhe who goes down to cSheol does not come up.

10 “He will not return again to his house,

Nor will ahis place know him anymore.

11 “Therefore aI will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12 “Am I the sea, or athe sea monster,

That You set a guard over me?

13 “If I say, ‘aMy bed will comfort me,

My couch will 1ease my complaint,’

14 Then You frighten me with dreams

And terrify me by visions;

15 So that my soul would choose suffocation,

Death rather than my 1pains.

16 “I 1awaste away; I will not live forever.

Leave me alone, bfor my days are but a breath.

17 “aWhat is man that You magnify him,

And that You 1are concerned about him,

18 That aYou examine him every morning

And try him every moment?

19 “1aWill You never turn Your gaze away from me,

Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

20 “aHave I sinned? What have I done to You,

O bwatcher of men?

Why have You set me as Your target,

So that I am a burden to myself?

21 “Why then ado You not pardon my transgression

And take away my iniquity?

For now I will blie down in the dust;

And You will seek me, cbut I will not be.”

Chapter 8

Bildad Says God Rewards the Good

1 Then Bildad the Shuhite 1answered,

2 “How long will you say these things,

And the awords of your mouth be a mighty wind?

3 “Does aGod pervert justice?

Or does 1the Almighty pervert what is right?

4 “aIf your sons sinned against Him,

Then He delivered them into the 1power of their transgression.

5 “If you would aseek God

And implore the compassion of 1the Almighty,

6 If you are pure and upright,

Surely now aHe would rouse Himself for you

And restore your righteous 1bestate.

7 “Though your beginning was insignificant,

Yet your aend will increase greatly.

8 “Please ainquire of past generations,

And consider the things searched out by their fathers.

9 “For we are only of yesterday and know nothing,

Because aour days on earth are as a shadow.

10 “Will they not teach you and tell you,

And bring forth words from their minds?

11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?

Can the rushes grow without water?

12 “While it is still green and not cut down,

Yet it withers before any other 1plant.

13 “So are the paths of aall who forget God;

And the bhope of the godless will perish,

14 Whose confidence is fragile,

And whose trust a aspider’s 1web.

15 “He 1trusts in his ahouse, but it does not stand;

He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.

16 “He 1athrives before the sun,

And his bshoots spread out over his garden.

17 “His roots wrap around a rock pile,

He 1grasps a house of stones.

18 “If he is 1removed from ahis place,

Then it will deny him, saying, ‘bI never saw you.’

19 “Behold, athis is the joy of His way;

And out of the dust others will spring.

20 “Lo, aGod will not reject a man of integrity,

Nor bwill He 1support the evildoers.

21 “He will yet fill ayour mouth with laughter

And your lips with shouting.

22 “Those who hate you will be aclothed with shame,

And the btent of the wicked will be no longer.”

Chapter 9

Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Man

1 Then Job 1answered,

2 “In truth I know that this is so;

But how can a aman be in the right 1before God?

3 “If one wished to adispute with Him,

He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

4 “aWise in heart and bmighty in strength,

Who has 1cdefied Him 2without harm?

5 “aIt is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,

When He overturns them in His anger;

6 Who ashakes the earth out of its place,

And its bpillars tremble;

7 Who commands the asun 1not to shine,

And sets a seal upon the stars;

8 Who alone astretches out the heavens

And 1btramples down the waves of the sea;

9 Who makes the aBear, Orion and the Pleiades,

And the bchambers of the south;

10 Who adoes great things, 1unfathomable,

And wondrous works without number.

11 “Were He to pass by me, aI would not see Him;

Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.

12 “Were He to snatch away, who could arestrain Him?

Who could say to Him, ‘bWhat are You doing?’

13 “God will not turn back His anger;

Beneath Him crouch the helpers of aRahab.

14 “How then can aI 1answer Him,

And choose my words 2before Him?

15 “For athough I were right, I could not 1answer;

I would have to bimplore the mercy of my judge.

16 “If I called and He answered me,

I could not believe that He was listening to my