Job 5

5“Call if you will, but who will answer you?^g

To which of the holy ones^h will you turn?

²Resentmentⁱ kills a fool,

and envy slays the simple.^j

³I myself have seen^k a fool taking root,^l

but suddenly^m his house was cursed.ⁿ

⁴His children^o are far from safety,^p

crushed in court^q without a defender.^r

⁵The hungry consume his harvest,^s

taking it even from among thorns,

and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

⁶For hardship does not spring from the soil,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground.^t

⁷Yet man is born to trouble^u

as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸“But if I were you, I would appeal to God;

I would lay my cause before him.^v

⁹He performs wonders^w that cannot be fathomed,^x

miracles that cannot be counted.^y

¹⁰He provides rain for the earth;^z

he sends water on the countryside.^a

¹¹The lowly he sets on high,^b

and those who mourn^c are lifted^d to safety.

¹²He thwarts the plans^e of the crafty,

so that their hands achieve no success.^f

¹³He catches the wise^g in their craftiness,^h

and the schemes of the wily are swept away.ⁱ

¹⁴Darkness^j comes upon them in the daytime;

at noon they grope as in the night.^k

¹⁵He saves the needy^l from the sword in their mouth;

he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.^m

¹⁶So the poorⁿ have hope,

and injustice shuts its mouth.^o

¹⁷“Blessed is the one whom God corrects;^p

so do not despise the discipline^q of the Almighty.^ar

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

he injures, but his hands also heal.^t

¹⁹From six calamities he will rescue^u you;

in seven no harm will touch you.^v

²⁰In famine^w he will deliver you from death,

and in battle from the stroke of the sword.^x

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

and need not fear^z when destruction comes.^a

²²You will laugh^b at destruction and famine,^c

and need not fear the wild animals.^d

²³For you will have a covenant^e with the stones^f of the field,

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

²⁴You will know that your tent is secure;^h

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

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

and your descendants like the grass of the earth.^k

²⁶You 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