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Job 5-7
Contemporary English Version
Job 5-7
Contemporary English Version
Eliphaz Continues
Call Out for Help
5 Job, call out for help
and see if an angel comes!
2 Envy and jealousy
will kill a stupid fool.
3 I have seen fools take root.
But God sends a curse,
suddenly uprooting them
4 and leaving their children
helpless in court.
5 Then hungry and greedy people
gobble up their crops
and grab their wealth.[a]
6 Our suffering isn't caused
by the failure of crops;
7 it's all part of life,
like sparks shooting skyward.
8 Job, if I were you,
I would ask God for help.
9 (A) His miracles are marvelous,
more than we can count.
10 God sends showers on earth
and waters the fields.
11 He protects the sorrowful
and lifts up those
who have been disgraced.
* 12 God swiftly traps the wicked
13 (B) in their own evil schemes,
and their wisdom fails.
14 Darkness is their only companion,
hiding their path at noon.
15 God rescues the needy
from the words of the wicked
and the fist of the mighty.
16 The poor are filled with hope,
and injustice is silenced.
Consider Yourself Fortunate
17 (C) Consider yourself fortunate
if God All-Powerful
chooses to correct you.
18 (D) He may cause injury and pain,
but he will bandage and heal
your cuts and bruises.
19 God will protect you from harm,
no matter how often
trouble may strike.
20 In times of war and famine,
God will keep you safe.
21 You will be sheltered,
without fear of hurtful words
or any other weapon.
22 You will laugh at the threat
of destruction and famine.
And you won't be afraid
of wild animals—
23 they will no longer be fierce,
and your rocky fields
will become friendly.
24 Your home will be secure,
and your sheep will be safe.
25 You will have more descendants
than there are blades of grass
on the face of the earth.
26 You will live a very long life,
and your body will be strong
until the day you die.
27 Our experience has proven
these things to be true,
so listen and learn.
Job's Reply to Eliphaz
It's Impossible
6 Job said:
2 It's impossible to weigh
my misery and grief!
3 They outweigh the sand
along the beach,
and that's why I have spoken
without thinking first.
4 The fearsome arrows
of God All-Powerful
have filled my soul
with their poison.
5 Do oxen and wild donkeys
cry out in distress
unless they are hungry?
6 What is food without salt?
What is more tasteless
than the white of an egg?[b]
7 That's how my food tastes,
and my appetite is gone.
* 8 How I wish that God
would answer my prayer
9 and do away with me.
10 Then I would be comforted,
knowing that in all of my pain
I have never disobeyed God.
11 Why should I patiently hope
when my strength is gone?
12 I am not strong as stone
or bronze,
13 and I have finally reached
the end of my rope.
My Friends, I Am Desperate
14 My friends, I am desperate,
and you should help me,
even if I no longer respect
God All-Powerful.[c]
* 15 But you are treacherous
16 like streams that swell
with melting snow,
17 then suddenly disappear
in the summer heat.
18 I am like a caravan,
lost in the desert
while searching for water.
19 Caravans from Tema and Sheba[d]
20 thought they would find water.
But they were disappointed,
21 just as I am with you.[e]
Only one look at my suffering,
and you run away scared.
What Have I Done Wrong?
22 Have I ever asked any of you
to give me a gift
23 or to purchase my freedom
from brutal enemies?
24 What have I done wrong?
Show me,
and I will keep quiet.
25 The truth is always painful,
but your arguments
prove nothing.
26 Here I am desperate,
and you consider my words
as worthless as wind.
27 Why, you would sell an orphan
or your own neighbor!
28 Look me straight in the eye;
I won't lie to you.
29 Stop accusing me falsely;
my reputation is at stake.
30 I know right from wrong,
and I am not telling lies.
Job Continues
Why Is Life So Hard?
7 Why is life so hard?
Why do we suffer?
2 We are slaves in search of shade;
we are laborers longing
for our wages.
3 God has made my days drag on
and my nights miserable.
4 I pray for night to end,
but it stretches out
while I toss and turn.
5 My parched skin is covered
with worms, dirt, and sores,
6 and my days are running out
quicker than the thread
of a fast-moving needle.
Don't Forget!
7 I beg you, God, don't forget!
My life is just a breath,
and trouble lies ahead.
8 I will vanish from sight,
and no one, including you,
will ever see me again.
9 (E) I will disappear in the grave
or vanish from sight
like a passing cloud.
10 Never will I return home;
soon I will be forgotten.
11 And so, I cry out to you
in agony and distress.
12 Am I the sea or a sea monster?
Is that why you imprison me?[f]
13 I go to bed, hoping for rest,
14 but you torture me
with terrible dreams.
* 15 I'd rather choke to death
than live in this body.
16 Leave me alone and let me die;
my life has no meaning.[g]
17 (F) What makes you so concerned
about us humans?
18 Why do you test us
from sunrise to sunset?
19 Won't you look away
just long enough
for me to swallow?
20 Why do you watch us so closely?
What's it to you, if I sin?
Why am I your target
and such a heavy burden?
21 Why do you refuse to forgive?
Soon you won't find me,
because I'll be dead.
Footnotes
- 5.5 wealth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
- 6.6 What is more tasteless … egg: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 6.14 and you should help me … God All-Powerful: Or “and if you don't help me, you no longer respect God All-Powerful.”
- 6.19 Tema and Sheba: Tema was a region in northwest Arabia, and Sheba was probably a region in southwest Arabia.
- 6.21 just … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 7.12 sea monster … imprison me: “Sea monster” translates the Hebrew word “Tannin,” which was possibly a sea monster similar to Leviathan (3.8), Rahab (9.13), and Behemoth (40.15). According to 38.8-11, God makes the sea his prisoner by setting its boundaries.
- 7.16 my life … meaning: Or “my life will soon be over.”
Job 5-7
New International Version
Job 5-7
New International Version
5 “Call if you will, but who will answer you?(A)
To which of the holy ones(B) will you turn?
2 Resentment(C) kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.(D)
3 I myself have seen(E) a fool taking root,(F)
but suddenly(G) his house was cursed.(H)
4 His children(I) are far from safety,(J)
crushed in court(K) without a defender.(L)
5 The hungry consume his harvest,(M)
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
6 For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.(N)
7 Yet man is born to trouble(O)
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.(P)
9 He performs wonders(Q) that cannot be fathomed,(R)
miracles that cannot be counted.(S)
10 He provides rain for the earth;(T)
he sends water on the countryside.(U)
11 The lowly he sets on high,(V)
and those who mourn(W) are lifted(X) to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans(Y) of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.(Z)
13 He catches the wise(AA) in their craftiness,(AB)
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.(AC)
14 Darkness(AD) comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.(AE)
15 He saves the needy(AF) from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.(AG)
16 So the poor(AH) have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.(AI)
17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;(AJ)
so do not despise the discipline(AK) of the Almighty.[a](AL)
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;(AM)
he injures, but his hands also heal.(AN)
19 From six calamities he will rescue(AO) you;
in seven no harm will touch you.(AP)
20 In famine(AQ) he will deliver you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.(AR)
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,(AS)
and need not fear(AT) when destruction comes.(AU)
22 You will laugh(AV) at destruction and famine,(AW)
and need not fear the wild animals.(AX)
23 For you will have a covenant(AY) with the stones(AZ) of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.(BA)
24 You will know that your tent is secure;(BB)
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.(BC)
25 You will know that your children will be many,(BD)
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.(BE)
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,(BF)
like sheaves gathered in season.(BG)
Job
6 Then Job replied:
2 “If only my anguish could be weighed
and all my misery be placed on the scales!(BJ)
3 It would surely outweigh the sand(BK) of the seas—
no wonder my words have been impetuous.(BL)
4 The arrows(BM) of the Almighty(BN) are in me,(BO)
my spirit drinks(BP) in their poison;(BQ)
God’s terrors(BR) are marshaled against me.(BS)
5 Does a wild donkey(BT) bray(BU) when it has grass,
or an ox bellow when it has fodder?(BV)
6 Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow[b]?(BW)
7 I refuse to touch it;
such food makes me ill.(BX)
8 “Oh, that I might have my request,
that God would grant what I hope for,(BY)
9 that God would be willing to crush(BZ) me,
to let loose his hand and cut off my life!(CA)
10 Then I would still have this consolation(CB)—
my joy in unrelenting pain(CC)—
that I had not denied the words(CD) of the Holy One.(CE)
11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
What prospects, that I should be patient?(CF)
12 Do I have the strength of stone?
Is my flesh bronze?(CG)
13 Do I have any power to help myself,(CH)
now that success has been driven from me?
14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend(CI)
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.(CJ)
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,(CK)
as the streams that overflow
16 when darkened by thawing ice
and swollen with melting snow,(CL)
17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,
and in the heat(CM) vanish from their channels.
18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
they go off into the wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema(CN) look for water,
the traveling merchants of Sheba(CO) look in hope.
20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;
they arrive there, only to be disappointed.(CP)
21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
you see something dreadful and are afraid.(CQ)
22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
pay a ransom(CR) for me from your wealth,(CS)
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?(CT)
24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;(CU)
show me where I have been wrong.(CV)
25 How painful are honest words!(CW)
But what do your arguments prove?
26 Do you mean to correct what I say,
and treat my desperate words as wind?(CX)
27 You would even cast lots(CY) for the fatherless(CZ)
and barter away your friend.
28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.
Would I lie to your face?(DA)
29 Relent, do not be unjust;(DB)
reconsider, for my integrity(DC) is at stake.[c](DD)
30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?(DE)
Can my mouth not discern(DF) malice?
7 “Do not mortals have hard service(DG) on earth?(DH)
Are not their days like those of hired laborers?(DI)
2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,(DJ)
or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,(DK)
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
and nights of misery have been assigned to me.(DL)
4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’(DM)
The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.(DN)
5 My body is clothed with worms(DO) and scabs,
my skin is broken and festering.(DP)
6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,(DQ)
and they come to an end without hope.(DR)
7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;(DS)
my eyes will never see happiness again.(DT)
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
you will look for me, but I will be no more.(DU)
9 As a cloud vanishes(DV) and is gone,
so one who goes down to the grave(DW) does not return.(DX)
10 He will never come to his house again;
his place(DY) will know him no more.(DZ)
11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;(EA)
I will speak out in the anguish(EB) of my spirit,
I will complain(EC) in the bitterness of my soul.(ED)
12 Am I the sea,(EE) or the monster of the deep,(EF)
that you put me under guard?(EG)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
and my couch will ease my complaint,(EH)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
and terrify(EI) me with visions,(EJ)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,(EK)
rather than this body of mine.(EL)
16 I despise my life;(EM) I would not live forever.(EN)
Let me alone;(EO) my days have no meaning.(EP)
17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
that you give them so much attention,(EQ)
18 that you examine them every morning(ER)
and test them(ES) every moment?(ET)
19 Will you never look away from me,(EU)
or let me alone even for an instant?(EV)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,(EW)
you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?(EX)
Have I become a burden to you?[d](EY)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
and forgive my sins?(EZ)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;(FA)
you will search for me, but I will be no more.”(FB)
Footnotes
- Job 5:17 Hebrew Shaddai; here and throughout Job
- Job 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Job 6:29 Or my righteousness still stands
- Job 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself.
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