Job 5-6
Complete Jewish Bible
5 “Call if you like, but will anyone answer?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 For anger kills the fool,
and envy slays the silly.
3 I watch as a fool establishes roots,
but I curse his home with sudden [destruction] —
4 his children are far from help,
publicly humiliated, with no one to rescue;
5 the hungry eat up his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
while the thirsty are panting,
eager to swallow his wealth.
6 For misery does not come from the dust
or trouble spring from the ground.
7 No, people are born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “If I were you, I would seek God;
I would make my plea to him.
9 For God does great deeds beyond investigation,
wonders beyond all reckoning.
10 He gives rain to the earth,
pours water down on the fields.
11 He raises the lowly on high
and lifts mourners to safety.
12 He frustrates the schemes of the cunning,
so that they achieve no success;
13 trapping the crafty in their own tricks
and foiling quickly the plans of the false.
14 They meet with darkness during the day,
groping at noon like at night.
15 But he saves the poor from the sword, their mouth,
and from the clutches of the strong;
16 so the poor can hope again;
and injustice shuts its mouth.
17 “How happy the person whom God corrects!
So don’t despise Shaddai’s discipline.
18 For he wounds, but he bandages the sore;
his hands may strike, but they also heal.
19 He will rescue you from six disasters;
yes, in seven no harm will touch you.
20 In famine, he will save you from death,
and in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be shielded from the lash of the tongue,
and you won’t have to fear destruction when it comes —
22 you’ll be able to laugh at destruction and famine.
Also you won’t have to fear wild animals,
23 for you will be in league with the stones in the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is safe;
you will look round your home and miss nothing.
25 You will know that your descendants are many,
your offspring like grass [growing thick] in the fields.
26 You will come to your grave at a ripe old age,
like a pile of grain that arrives in season.
27 “We’ve looked into this, and that’s how it is;
listen, and know that it’s for your own good.”
6 Iyov responded:
2 “I wish my frustration could be weighed,
all my calamities laid on the scales!
3 They would outweigh the sands of the seas!
No wonder, then, that my words come out stammered!
4 For the arrows of Shaddai find their mark in me,
and my spirit is drinking in their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 “Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass?
Does an ox low when it has fodder?
6 Can food without flavor be eaten without salt?
Do egg whites have any taste?
7 I refuse to touch them;
such food makes me sick.
8 “If only I could have my wish granted,
and God would give me what I’m hoping for —
9 that God would decide to crush me,
that he would let his hand loose and cut me off!
10 Then I would feel consoled;
so that even in the face of unending pain,
I would be able to rejoice;
for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.
11 “Have I enough strength to go on waiting?
What end can I expect, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones?
Is my flesh made of bronze?
13 Clearly, I have no help in myself;
common sense has been driven from me.
14 “A friend should be kind to an unhappy man,
even to one who abandons Shaddai.
15 But my brothers are as deceptive as vadis,
as vadi streams that soon run dry;
16 they may turn dark with ice
and be hidden by piled-up snow;
17 but as the weather warms up, they vanish;
when it’s hot, they disappear.
18 Their courses turn this way and that;
they go up into the confusing waste and are lost.
19 The caravans from Tema look for them,
the travelers from Sh’va hope to find them;
20 but they are disappointed, because they were confident;
on arrival there, they are frustrated.
21 “For now, you have become like that —
just seeing my calamity makes you afraid.
22 Did I say to you, ‘Give me something,’
or, ‘From your wealth, offer a bribe on my behalf,’
23 or, ‘Save me from the enemy’s grip,’
or, ‘Redeem me from the clutches of oppressors’?
24 “Teach me, and I will be silent.
Make me understand how I am at fault.
25 Honest words are forceful indeed,
but what do your arguments prove?
26 Do you think [your own] words constitute argument,
while the speech of a desperate man is merely wind?
27 I suppose you would even throw dice for an orphan
or barter away your friend!
28 “So now, I beg you, look at me!
Would I lie to your face?
29 Think it over, please; don’t let wrong be done.
Think it over again: my cause is just.
30 Am I saying something wrong?
Can’t I recognize trouble when I taste it?
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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