Job 5-6

American Standard Version

5 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 ^[a]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 ^[b]the snare gapeth for their substance.
⁶ For ^[c]affliction cometh not forth from the dust,
Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
⁷ But man is born unto trouble,
As ^[d]the sparks fly upward.

⁸ But as for me, I would seek unto God,
And unto God would I commit my cause;
⁹ Who doeth great things and unsearchable,
Marvellous things without number:
¹⁰ Who giveth rain upon the earth,
And sendeth waters upon the fields;
¹¹ So that he setteth up on high those that are low,
And those that mourn are exalted to safety.
¹² He frustrateth the devices of the crafty,
So that their hands ^[e]cannot perform their enterprise.
¹³ He taketh the wise in their own craftiness;
And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
¹⁴ They meet with darkness in the day-time,
And grope at noonday as in the night.
¹⁵ But he saveth from the sword ^[f]of their mouth,
Even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
¹⁶ So the poor hath hope,
And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

¹⁷ Behold, happy is the man whom God ^[g]correcteth:
Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
¹⁸ For he maketh sore, and bindeth up;
He woundeth, and his hands make whole.
¹⁹ He will deliver thee in six troubles;
Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
²⁰ In famine he will redeem thee from death;
And in war from the power of the sword.
²¹ Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue;
Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
²² At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh;
Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
²³ For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field;
And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
²⁴ And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace;
And thou shalt visit thy ^[h]fold, and ^[i]shalt miss nothing.
²⁵ Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great,
And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
²⁶ Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age,
Like as a shock of grain cometh in in its season.
²⁷ Lo this, we have searched it, so it is;
Hear it, and know thou it ^[j]for thy good.

² Oh that my vexation were but weighed,
And all my calamity laid in the balances!
³ For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas:
Therefore have my words been rash.
⁴ For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
The poison whereof my spirit drinketh up:
The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.
⁵ Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass?
Or loweth the ox over his fodder?
⁶ Can that which hath no savor be eaten without salt?
Or is there any taste in ^[k]the white of an egg?
^7 [l]My soul refuseth to touch them;
They are as loathsome food to me.

⁸ Oh that I might have my request;
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
⁹ Even that it would please God to crush me;
That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!
¹⁰ And be it still my consolation,
^[m]Yea, let me ^[n]exult in pain ^[o]that spareth not,
That I have not ^[p]denied the words of the Holy One.
¹¹ What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is mine end, that I should be patient?
¹² Is my strength the strength of stones?
Or is my flesh of brass?
¹³ Is it not that I have no help in me,
And that wisdom is driven quite from me?

¹⁴ To him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend;
^[q]Even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
¹⁵ My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,
As the channel of brooks that pass away;
¹⁶ Which are black by reason of the ice,
And wherein the snow hideth itself:
¹⁷ What time they ^[r]wax warm, they vanish;
When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
^18 [s]The caravans that travel by the way of them turn aside;
They go up into the waste, and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of Tema looked,
The companies of Sheba waited for them.
²⁰ They were put to shame because they had hoped;
They came thither, and were confounded.
²¹ For now ye ^[t]are nothing;
Ye see a terror, and are afraid.
²² Did I say, Give unto me?
Or, Offer a present for me of your substance?
²³ Or, Deliver me from the adversary’s hand?
Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?

²⁴ Teach me, and I will hold my peace;
And cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
²⁵ How forcible are words of uprightness!
But your reproof, what doth it reprove?
²⁶ Do ye think to reprove words,
Seeing that the speeches of one that is desperate are ^[u]as wind?
²⁷ Yea, ye would cast lots upon the fatherless,
And make merchandise of your friend.
²⁸ Now therefore be pleased to look upon me;
^[v]For surely I shall not lie to your face.
²⁹ Return, I pray you, let there be no injustice;
Yea, return again, ^[w]my cause is righteous.
³⁰ Is there injustice on my tongue?
Cannot my taste discern mischievous things?