Job 5-7

New Living Translation

⁸ “If I were you, I would go to God
    and present my case to him.
⁹ He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles.
¹⁰ He gives rain for the earth
    and water for the fields.
¹¹ He gives prosperity to the poor
    and protects those who suffer.
¹² He frustrates the plans of schemers
    so the work of their hands will not succeed.
¹³ He traps the wise in their own cleverness
    so their cunning schemes are thwarted.
¹⁴ They find it is dark in the daytime,
    and they grope at noon as if it were night.
¹⁵ He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong,
    and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.
¹⁶ And so at last the poor have hope,
    and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

¹⁷ “But consider the joy of those corrected by God!
    Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.
¹⁸ For though he wounds, he also bandages.
    He strikes, but his hands also heal.
¹⁹ From six disasters he will rescue you;
    even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.
²⁰ He will save you from death in time of famine,
    from the power of the sword in time of war.
²¹ You will be safe from slander
    and have no fear when destruction comes.
²² You will laugh at destruction and famine;
    wild animals will not terrify you.
²³ You will be at peace with the stones of the field,
    and its wild animals will be at peace with you.
²⁴ You will know that your home is safe.
    When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.
²⁵ You will have many children;
    your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!
²⁶ You will go to the grave at a ripe old age,
    like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!

²⁷ “We have studied life and found all this to be true.
    Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.”

² “If my misery could be weighed
    and my troubles be put on the scales,
³ they would outweigh all the sands of the sea.
    That is why I spoke impulsively.
⁴ For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows.
    Their poison infects my spirit.
    God’s terrors are lined up against me.
⁵ Don’t I have a right to complain?
    Don’t wild donkeys bray when they find no grass,
    and oxen bellow when they have no food?
⁶ Don’t people complain about unsalted food?
    Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?^[d]
7 My appetite disappears when I look at it;
    I gag at the thought of eating it!

⁸ “Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant my desire.
⁹ I wish he would crush me.
    I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.
¹⁰ At least I can take comfort in this:
    Despite the pain,
    I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
¹¹ But I don’t have the strength to endure.
    I have nothing to live for.
¹² Do I have the strength of a stone?
    Is my body made of bronze?
¹³ No, I am utterly helpless,
    without any chance of success.

¹⁴ “One should be kind to a fainting friend,
    but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.^[e]
15 My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook
    that overflows its banks in the spring
¹⁶     when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.
¹⁷ But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears.
    The brook vanishes in the heat.
¹⁸ The caravans turn aside to be refreshed,
    but there is nothing to drink, so they die.
¹⁹ The caravans from Tema search for this water;
    the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.
²⁰ They count on it but are disappointed.
    When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.
²¹ You, too, have given no help.
    You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.
²² But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift?
    Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?
²³ Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies,
    or to save me from ruthless people?
²⁴ Teach me, and I will keep quiet.
    Show me what I have done wrong.
²⁵ Honest words can be painful,
    but what do your criticisms amount to?
²⁶ Do you think your words are convincing
    when you disregard my cry of desperation?
²⁷ You would even send an orphan into slavery^[f]
    or sell a friend.
²⁸ Look at me!
    Would I lie to your face?
²⁹ Stop assuming my guilt,
    for I have done no wrong.
³⁰ Do you think I am lying?
    Don’t I know the difference between right and wrong?

7 “Is not all human life a struggle?
    Our lives are like that of a hired hand,
² like a worker who longs for the shade,
    like a servant waiting to be paid.
³ I, too, have been assigned months of futility,
    long and weary nights of misery.
⁴ Lying in bed, I think, ‘When will it be morning?’
    But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.
⁵ My body is covered with maggots and scabs.
    My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.

¹¹ “I cannot keep from speaking.
    I must express my anguish.
    My bitter soul must complain.
¹² Am I a sea monster or a dragon
    that you must place me under guard?
¹³ I think, ‘My bed will comfort me,
    and sleep will ease my misery,’
¹⁴ but then you shatter me with dreams
    and terrify me with visions.
¹⁵ I would rather be strangled—
    rather die than suffer like this.
¹⁶ I hate my life and don’t want to go on living.
    Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

¹⁷ “What are people, that you should make so much of us,
    that you should think of us so often?
¹⁸ For you examine us every morning
    and test us every moment.
¹⁹ Why won’t you leave me alone,
    at least long enough for me to swallow!
²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you,
    O watcher of all humanity?
Why make me your target?
    Am I a burden to you?^[h]
21 Why not just forgive my sin
    and take away my guilt?
For soon I will lie down in the dust and die.
    When you look for me, I will be gone.”