Job 5:17-6:24
English Standard Version
17 “Behold, (A)blessed is the one whom God reproves;
therefore (B)despise not the discipline of the (C)Almighty.
18 For he wounds, but he (D)binds up;
he (E)shatters, but his hands heal.
19 He will (F)deliver you from six troubles;
in seven no (G)evil[a] shall touch you.
20 (H)In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in war from the power of the sword.
21 You shall be (I)hidden from the lash of the tongue,
and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
22 At destruction and famine you shall laugh,
and shall not fear (J)the beasts of the earth.
23 For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,
and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24 You shall know that your (K)tent is at peace,
and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25 You shall know also that your (L)offspring shall be many,
and your descendants as (M)the grass of the earth.
26 You shall come to your grave in (N)ripe old age,
like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
27 Behold, this we have (O)searched out; it is true.
Hear, and know it for your good.”[b]
Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just
6 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Oh that my vexation were weighed,
and all my calamity laid in the balances!
3 For then it would be heavier than (P)the sand of the sea;
therefore my words have been rash.
4 For (Q)the arrows of the Almighty are in me;
my spirit drinks their poison;
the terrors of God are arrayed against me.
5 Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,
or the ox low over his fodder?
6 Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,
or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?[c]
7 My appetite refuses to touch them;
they are as food that is loathsome to me.[d]
8 “Oh that I might have my request,
and that God would fulfill my hope,
9 that it would (R)please God to crush me,
that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!
10 This would be my comfort;
I would even exult[e] in pain (S)unsparing,
for I have not denied the words of (T)the Holy One.
11 What is my strength, that I should wait?
And what is my end, that I should be patient?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?
13 Have I any help in me,
when resource is driven from me?
14 “He who (U)withholds[f] kindness from a (V)friend
forsakes the fear of the Almighty.
15 My (W)brothers are (X)treacherous as a torrent-bed,
as torrential (Y)streams that pass away,
16 which are dark with ice,
and where the snow hides itself.
17 When they melt, they disappear;
when it is hot, they vanish from their place.
18 The caravans turn aside from their course;
they go up into (Z)the waste and perish.
19 The caravans of (AA)Tema look,
the travelers of (AB)Sheba hope.
20 They are (AC)ashamed because they were confident;
they come there and are (AD)disappointed.
21 For you have now become nothing;
you see my calamity and are afraid.
22 Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?
Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?
23 Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary's hand’?
Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of (AE)the ruthless’?
24 “Teach me, and I will be silent;
make me understand how I have gone astray.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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