Job 5
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 5
Resentment Slays the Fool[a]
1 “Call out now if you so wish.
Is there anyone who will reply?
To which of the holy ones[b] will you turn?
2 Resentment slays the fool,
and envy brings death to the simpleton.
3 I have seen a fool enjoy success for a time,
but suddenly his house was cursed.
4 “His children are cut off from safety,
slaughtered at the gate[c] without a defender.
5 The hungry devour their harvest,
even that growing amid the thorns,[d]
and the thirsty pant for their wealth.
6 For misery does not grow out of the earth,
nor does trouble spring from the soil.
7 Rather, man breeds trouble for himself,
as surely as sparks[e] fly upward.
I Would Appeal to God[f]
8 “If I were you, I would appeal to God
and present my case before him.
9 He performs deeds that are beyond understanding,
and wonders that cannot be counted.
10 He provides rain for the earth
and sends down water upon the fields.
11 He raises on high those who are lowly,
and those who mourn he lifts to safety.
12 “He thwarts the schemes of the crafty
so that they do not achieve any success.
13 He traps the cunning in their intrigues
and throws their plans into disarray.
14 They encounter darkness in the daytime
and grope their way at noon as if it were night.
15 But he saves the destitute from the sword
and rescues them from the hand of the mighty.
16 Therefore, the poor once again have hope,
and iniquity must shut its mouth.
Blessed Is the Man Whom God Reproves[g]
17 “Blessed is the man whom God[h] reproves.
Therefore, do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For even though he wounds, he also binds up;
he smites, but his hands also heal.
19 He will deliver you from trouble six times,
and on the seventh[i] no evil will touch you.
20 In time of famine he will rescue you from death,
and in wartime from the thrust of the sword.
21 “You will be shielded from the scourge of the tongue,
and you will not fear calamity when it looms.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine
and not be terrified by the beasts of the earth.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field
and live in peace with wild animals.
24 You will know that your tent is secure,
and your household will be intact when you inspect it.
25 “You will know that your descendants will be numerous,
and your offspring like the grass of the earth.
26 You will go to the grave at a ripe old age,
like sheaves gathered at the right time.
27 All this we have researched, and it is true.
Heed it, and apply it to yourself.”
Footnotes
- Job 5:1 In time of trial, prayer is of no avail if it expresses obstinacy and vexation. Man is the cause of his own unhappiness.
- Job 5:1 The holy ones: after the Exile, this referred to the heavenly spirits (see Job 15:15; Dan 4:10, 14, 20; 8:13; Zec 14:5). They were beginning to be regarded as powerful intercessors with God (see Job 33:23-24; Zec 1:12).
- Job 5:4 At the gate: the place of the city where normal business was conducted and justice was administered.
- Job 5:5 Even . . . thorns: an alternative reading is: “God snatches it out of their mouths.”
- Job 5:7 Sparks: literally, “sons of Resheph.” Resheph was a god of the Canaanites whose name came to be used in the Old Testament as a symbol of fire (Song 8:6), lightning bolts (Ps 78:48), and pestilence (Deut 32:24; Hab 3:5).
- Job 5:8 Like an announcement of the Magnificat (Lk 1:49-53), this poem sings of the power and goodness of God. Eliphaz here presents a remarkable conception of prayer while excluding all discussion of human beings with God.
- Job 5:17 The traditional teaching on trials loves to describe the new earthly happiness that is in store for the faithful.
- Job 5:17 God: the Hebrew text has Shaddai, which means “the powerful one” or, literally, “God of the mountains.” It was a name given to God in the time of the Patriarchs (see Gen 17:1; 35:11; 48:3; Ex 6:3). The author uses this archaic name in order to situate Job in a distant past.
- Job 5:19 Six times . . . on the seventh: a literary device for indicating a very large number or even a totality (see Prov 6:16f; 30:15f; Am 1:3-13).
Job 5
World English Bible
5 “Call now; is there any who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 For resentment kills the foolish man,
and jealousy kills the simple.
3 I have seen the foolish taking root,
but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 His children are far from safety.
They are crushed in the gate.
Neither is there any to deliver them,
5 whose harvest the hungry eat up,
and take it even out of the thorns.
The snare gapes for their substance.
6 For affliction doesn’t come out of the dust,
neither does trouble spring out of the ground;
7 but man is born to trouble,
as the sparks fly upward.
8 “But as for me, I would seek God.
I would commit my cause to God,
9 who does great things that can’t be fathomed,
marvelous things without number;
10 who gives rain on the earth,
and sends waters on the fields;
11 so that he sets up on high those who are low,
those who mourn are exalted to safety.
12 He frustrates the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands can’t perform their enterprise.
13 He takes the wise in their own craftiness;
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 saves from the sword of their mouth,
even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor has hope,
and injustice shuts her mouth.
17 “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects.
Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds and binds up.
He injures and his hands make whole.
19 He will deliver you in six troubles;
yes, in seven no evil will touch you.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death;
in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,
neither will you be afraid of destruction when it comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine,
neither will you be afraid of the animals of the earth.
23 For you will be allied with the stones of the field.
The animals of the field will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is in peace.
You will visit your fold, and will miss nothing.
25 You will know also that your offspring[a] will be great,
your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to your grave in a full age,
like a shock of grain comes in its season.
27 Behold, we have researched it. It is so.
Hear it, and know it for your good.”
Footnotes
- 5:25 or, seed
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