Job 5

“Call if you will, but who will answer you?^s

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

Resentment^u kills a fool,

and envy slays the simple.^v

I myself have seen^w a fool taking root,^x

but suddenly^y his house was cursed.^z

His children^a are far from safety,^b

crushed in court^c without a defender.^d

The hungry consume his harvest,^e

taking it even from among thorns,

and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

For hardship does not spring from the soil,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground.^f

Yet human beings are born to trouble^g

as surely as sparks fly upward.

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

I would lay my cause before him.^h

He performs wondersⁱ that cannot be fathomed,^j

miracles that cannot be counted.^k

He bestows rain on the earth;^l

he sends water on the countryside.^m

The lowly he sets on high,ⁿ

and those who mourn^o are lifted^p to safety.

He thwarts the plans^q of the crafty,

so that their hands achieve no success.^r

He catches the wise^s in their craftiness,^t

and the schemes of the wily are swept away.^u

Darkness^v comes upon them in the daytime;

at noon they grope as in the night.^w

He saves the needy^x from the sword in their mouth;

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

So the poor^z have hope,

and injustice shuts its mouth.^a

“Blessed are those whom God corrects;^b

so do not despise the discipline^c of the Almighty.^d

For he wounds, but he also binds up;^e

he injures, but his hands also heal.^f

From six calamities he will rescue^g you;

in seven no harm will touch you.^h

In famineⁱ he will deliver you from death,

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

You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,^k

and need not fear^l when destruction comes.^m

You will laughⁿ at destruction and famine,^o

and need not fear the wild animals.^p

For you will have a covenant^q with the stones^r of the field,

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

You will know that your tent is secure;^t

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

You will know that your children will be many,^v

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

You will come to the grave in full vigor,^x

like sheaves gathered in season.^y

“We have examined this, and it is true.

So hear it^z and apply it to yourself.”^a