Job 5:17–8:22

17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;p

so do not despise the disciplineq of the Almighty.a r

18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;s

he injures, but his hands also heal.t

19 From six calamities he will rescueu you;

in seven no harm will touch you.v

20 In faminew he will deliver you from death,

and in battle from the stroke of the sword.x

21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,y

and need not fearz when destruction comes.a

22 You will laughb at destruction and famine,c

and need not fear the wild animals.d

23 For you will have a covenante with the stonesf of the field,

and the wild animals will be at peace with you.g

24 You will know that your tent is secure;h

you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.i

25 You will know that your children will be many,j

and your descendants like the grass of the earth.k

26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,l

like sheaves gathered in season.m

27 “We have examined this, and it is true.

So hear itn and apply it to yourself.”o

Job

6 Then Job replied:

2 “If only my anguish could be weighed

and all my misery be placed on the scales!p

3 It would surely outweigh the sandq of the seas—

no wonder my words have been impetuous.r

4 The arrowss of the Almightyt are in me,u

my spirit drinksv in their poison;w

God’s terrorsx are marshaled against me.y

5 Does a wild donkeyz braya when it has grass,

or an ox bellow when it has fodder?b

6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,

or is there flavor in the sap of the mallowa?c

7 I refuse to touch it;

such food makes me ill.d

8 “Oh, that I might have my request,

that God would grant what I hope for,e

9 that God would be willing to crushf me,

to let loose his hand and cut off my life!g

10 Then I would still have this consolationh—

my joy in unrelenting paini—

that I had not denied the wordsj of the Holy One.k

11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?

What prospects, that I should be patient?l

12 Do I have the strength of stone?

Is my flesh bronze?m

13 Do I have any power to help myself,n

now that success has been driven from me?

14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friendo

forsakes the fear of the Almighty.p

15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,q

as the streams that overflow

16 when darkened by thawing ice

and swollen with melting snow,r

17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,

and in the heats vanish from their channels.

18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;

they go off into the wasteland and perish.

19 The caravans of Temat look for water,

the traveling merchants of Shebau look in hope.

20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;

they arrive there, only to be disappointed.v

21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;

you see something dreadful and are afraid.w

22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,

pay a ransomx for me from your wealth,y

23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,

rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?z

24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;a

show me where I have been wrong.b

25 How painful are honest words!c

But what do your arguments prove?

26 Do you mean to correct what I say,

and treat my desperate words as wind?d

27 You would even cast lotse for the fatherlessf

and barter away your friend.

28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.

Would I lie to your face?g

29 Relent, do not be unjust;h

reconsider, for my integrityi is at stake.b j

30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?k

Can my mouth not discernl malice?

7 “Do not mortals have hard servicem on earth?n

Are not their days like those of hired laborers?o

2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,p

or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,q

3 so I have been allotted months of futility,

and nights of misery have been assigned to me.r

4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’s

The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.t

5 My body is clothed with wormsu and scabs,

my skin is broken and festering.v

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

and they come to an end without hope.x

7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;y

my eyes will never see happiness again.z

8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;

you will look for me, but I will be no more.a

9 As a cloud vanishesb and is gone,

so one who goes down to the gravec does not return.d

10 He will never come to his house again;

his placee will know him no more.f

11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;g

I will speak out in the anguishh of my spirit,

I will complaini in the bitterness of my soul.j

12 Am I the sea,k or the monster of the deep,l

that you put me under guard?m

13 When I think my bed will comfort me

and my couch will ease my complaint,n

14 even then you frighten me with dreams

and terrifyo me with visions,p

15 so that I prefer strangling and death,q

rather than this body of mine.r

16 I despise my life;s I would not live forever.t

Let me alone;u my days have no meaning.v

17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,

that you give them so much attention,w

18 that you examine them every morningx

and test themy every moment?z

19 Will you never look away from me,a

or let me alone even for an instant?b

20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,c

you who sees everything we do?

Why have you made me your target?d

Have I become a burden to you?a e

21 Why do you not pardon my offenses

and forgive my sins?f

For I will soon lie down in the dust;g

you will search for me, but I will be no more.”h

Bildad

8 Then Bildad the Shuhitei replied:

2 “How long will you say such things?j

Your words are a blustering wind.k

3 Does God pervert justice?l

Does the Almighty pervert what is right?m

4 When your children sinned against him,

he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.n

5 But if you will seek God earnestly

and pleado with the Almighty,p

6 if you are pure and upright,

even now he will rouse himself on your behalfq

and restore you to your prosperous state.r

7 Your beginnings will seem humble,

so prosperouss will your future be.t

8 “Ask the former generationu

and find out what their ancestors learned,

9 for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,v

and our days on earth are but a shadow.w

10 Will they not instructx you and tell you?

Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?y

11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?z

Can reedsa thrive without water?

12 While still growing and uncut,

they wither more quickly than grass.b

13 Such is the destinyc of all who forget God;d

so perishes the hope of the godless.e

14 What they trust in is fragilea;

what they rely on is a spider’s web.f

15 They lean on the web,g but it gives way;

they cling to it, but it does not hold.h

16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,

spreading its shootsi over the garden;j

17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks

and looks for a place among the stones.

18 But when it is torn from its spot,

that place disownsk it and says, ‘I never saw you.’l

19 Surely its life withersm away,

andb from the soil other plants grow.n

20 “Surely God does not reject one who is blamelesso

or strengthen the hands of evildoers.p

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughterq

and your lips with shouts of joy.r

22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,s

and the tentst of the wicked will be no more.”u