Job 5-6

Common English Bible

5 Call out. Will anyone answer you?
    To which holy one will you turn?
² Surely anger can kill the foolish;
    fury can kill the simple.
³ I’ve seen the foolish take root
    and promptly curse their house.
⁴ Their children are far^[a] from safety,
    crushed in the gate without a deliverer.
⁵ The hungry devour^[b] their crops;
    it’s taken even from the thorns,^[c]
    and the thirsty pant after their yield.
⁶ Surely trouble doesn’t come from dust,
    nor does distress sprout from the ground.
⁷ Surely humans are born to distress,
    just as sparks rise up.

⁸ But I would seek God,
        put my case to God,
⁹     who does great things beyond comprehension,
    wonderful things without number;
¹⁰     who provides rain over the earth’s surface,
    sends water to the open country,
¹¹     exalts the lowly,
        raises mourners to victory;
¹²     who frustrates the schemes of the clever
        so that their hands achieve no success,
¹³     trapping the wise in their cleverness
            so that the plans of the devious don’t succeed.
¹⁴ They encounter darkness during the day,
    and at noon they fumble about as at night.
¹⁵ Yet he rescues the orphan^[d] from the sword of their mouth,
    the needy from the grip of the strong;
¹⁶         so the poor have hope
        and violence shuts its mouth.

¹⁷ Look, happy is the person whom God corrects;
    so don’t reject the Almighty’s instruction.
¹⁸ He injures, but he binds up;
    he strikes, but his hands heal.
¹⁹ From six adversities he will deliver you;
    from seven harm won’t touch you.
²⁰ In famine he will ransom you from death;
    in war, from the power of the sword.
²¹ You will be hidden from the tongue’s sting,
    and you won’t fear destruction when it comes.
²² You will laugh at destruction and hunger;
    you won’t be afraid of wild beasts;
²³         for you will make an agreement with the stones of the field;
        and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
²⁴ You will know that your tent is secure.
    You will examine your home and miss nothing.
²⁵ You will know that you’ll have many children.
    Your offspring will be like the grass of the earth.
²⁶ You will come to your grave in old age
    as bundles of grain stacked up at harvesttime.
²⁷ Look, we’ve searched this out, and so it is;
    listen and find out for yourself.

² Oh, that my grief were actually weighed,
    all of it were lifted up in scales;
³     for now it’s heavier than the sands of the sea;
        therefore, my words are rash.^[e]
4 The Almighty’s arrows are in me;
    my spirit drinks their poison,
    and God’s terrors are arrayed against me.
⁵ Does a donkey bray over grass
    or an ox bellow over its fodder?
⁶ Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
    or does egg white^[f] have taste?
⁷ I refuse to touch them;
    they resemble food for the sick.

⁸ Oh, that what I’ve requested would come
        and God grant my hope;
⁹     that God be willing to crush me,
    release his hand and cut me off.
¹⁰ I’d still take comfort,
    relieved^[g] even though in persistent pain;
        for I’ve not denied the words of the holy one.
¹¹ What is my strength, that I should hope;
    my end, that my life should drag on?
¹² Is my strength that of rocks,
    my flesh bronze?
¹³ I don’t have a helper for myself;
    success has been taken from me.

¹⁴ Are friends loyal to the one who despairs,^[h]
    or do they stop fearing the Almighty?
¹⁵ My companions are treacherous like a stream in the desert,
    like channels that overrun their streambeds,
¹⁶     like those darkened by thawing ice,
        in which snow is obscured
¹⁷     but that stop flowing in dry times
        and vanish from their channels in heat.
¹⁸ Caravans turn aside from their paths;
    they go up into untamed areas and perish.
¹⁹ Caravans from Tema look;
    merchants from Sheba hope for it.
²⁰ They are ashamed that they trusted;
    they arrive and are dismayed.
²¹ That’s what you are like;^[i]
    you see something awful and are afraid.

²² Have I said, “Give me something?
    Offer a bribe from your wealth for me?
²³     Rescue me from the hand of my enemy?
    Ransom me from the grip of the ruthless?”
²⁴ Instruct me and I’ll be quiet;
    inform me how I’ve erred.
²⁵ How painful are truthful words,
    but what do your condemnations accomplish?
²⁶ Do you intend to correct my words,
    to treat the words of a hopeless man as wind?
²⁷ Would you even gamble over an orphan,
    barter away your friend?
²⁸ Now look at me—
    would I lie to your face?
²⁹ Turn! Don’t be faithless.
    Turn now! I am righteous.
³⁰ Is there wrong on my tongue,
    or can my mouth not recognize disaster?