Job 5
Young's Literal Translation
5 Pray, call, is there any to answer thee? And unto which of the holy ones dost thou turn?
2 For provocation slayeth the perverse, And envy putteth to death the simple,
3 I -- I have seen the perverse taking root, And I mark his habitation straightway,
4 Far are his sons from safety, And they are bruised in the gate, And there is no deliverer.
5 Whose harvest the hungry doth eat, And even from the thorns taketh it, And the designing swallowed their wealth.
6 For sorrow cometh not forth from the dust, Nor from the ground springeth up misery.
7 For man to misery is born, And the sparks go high to fly.
8 Yet I -- I inquire for God, And for God I give my word,
9 Doing great things, and there is no searching. Wonderful, till there is no numbering.
10 Who is giving rain on the face of the land, And is sending waters on the out-places.
11 To set the low on a high place, And the mourners have been high [in] safety.
12 Making void thoughts of the subtile, And their hands do not execute wisdom.
13 Capturing the wise in their subtilty, And the counsel of wrestling ones was hastened,
14 By day they meet darkness, And as night -- they grope at noon.
15 And He saveth the wasted from their mouth, And from a strong hand the needy,
16 And there is hope to the poor, And perverseness hath shut her mouth.
17 Lo, the happiness of mortal man, God doth reprove him: And the chastisement of the Mighty despise not,
18 For He doth pain, and He bindeth up, He smiteth, and His hands heal.
19 In six distresses He delivereth thee, And in seven evil striketh not on thee.
20 In famine He hath redeemed thee from death, And in battle from the hands of the sword.
21 When the tongue scourgeth thou art hid, And thou art not afraid of destruction, When it cometh.
22 At destruction and at hunger thou mockest, And of the beast of the earth, Thou art not afraid.
23 (For with sons of the field [is] thy covenant, And the beast of the field Hath been at peace with thee.)
24 And thou hast known that thy tent [is] peace, And inspected thy habitation, and errest not,
25 And hast known that numerous [is] Thy seed, And thine offspring as the herb of the earth;
26 Thou comest in full age unto the grave, As the going up of a stalk in its season.
27 Lo, this -- we searched it out -- it [is] right, hearken; And thou, know for thyself!
Job 5
Common English Bible
Life’s problems
5 Call out. Will anyone answer you?
To which holy one will you turn?
2 Surely anger can kill the foolish;
fury can kill the simple.
3 I’ve seen the foolish take root
and promptly curse their house.
4 Their children are far[a] from safety,
crushed in the gate without a deliverer.
5 The hungry devour[b] their crops;
it’s taken even from the thorns,[c]
and the thirsty pant after their yield.
6 Surely trouble doesn’t come from dust,
nor does distress sprout from the ground.
7 Surely humans are born to distress,
just as sparks rise up.
The answer is God
8 But I would seek God,
put my case to God,
9 who does great things beyond comprehension,
wonderful things without number;
10 who provides rain over the earth’s surface,
sends water to the open country,
11 exalts the lowly,
raises mourners to victory;
12 who frustrates the schemes of the clever
so that their hands achieve no success,
13 trapping the wise in their cleverness
so that the plans of the devious don’t succeed.
14 They encounter darkness during the day,
and at noon they fumble about as at night.
15 Yet he rescues the orphan[d] from the sword of their mouth,
the needy from the grip of the strong;
16 so the poor have hope
and violence shuts its mouth.
Divine favor
17 Look, happy is the person whom God corrects;
so don’t reject the Almighty’s instruction.
18 He injures, but he binds up;
he strikes, but his hands heal.
19 From six adversities he will deliver you;
from seven harm won’t touch you.
20 In famine he will ransom you from death;
in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be hidden from the tongue’s sting,
and you won’t fear destruction when it comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger;
you won’t be afraid of wild beasts;
23 for you will make an agreement with the stones of the field;
and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is secure.
You will examine your home and miss nothing.
25 You will know that you’ll have many children.
Your offspring will be like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to your grave in old age
as bundles of grain stacked up at harvesttime.
27 Look, we’ve searched this out, and so it is;
listen and find out for yourself.
Job 5
Easy-to-Read Version
5 “Job, call out if you want, and see if anyone answers!
But to which of the angels will you turn?
2 A fool’s anger will kill him.
His jealousy will destroy him.
3 I saw a fool who thought he was safe,
but suddenly he died.[a]
4 There was no one to help his children.
No one defended them in court.
5 Hungry people ate all his crops,
even the grain growing among the thorns,
and greedy people took all he had.
6 Bad times don’t come up from the dirt.
Trouble does not grow from the ground.
7 But people are born to have trouble,
as surely as sparks rise from a fire.
8 If I were you, I would turn to God
and tell him about my problems.
9 People cannot understand the wonderful things God does.
His miracles are too many to count.
10 He sends rain all over the earth
and waters the fields.
11 He raises up the humble
and makes sad people happy.
12 He spoils the plans of even the smartest people
so that they will not succeed.
13 He catches those who think they are wise in their own clever traps
and brings to an end their evil plans.
14 Daylight will be like darkness for them.
Even at noon they will have to feel their way as in the dark.
15 God saves the poor from the hurtful words of the wicked.
He saves them from those who are powerful.
16 So the poor have hope;
God shuts the mouths of those who would cause them harm.
17 “You are fortunate when God corrects you.
So don’t complain when God All-Powerful punishes you.
18 God might injure you, but he will bandage those wounds.
He might hurt you, but his hands also heal.
19 He will save you again and again.
No evil will harm you.[b]
20 God will save you from death
when there is famine.
He will protect you from the sword
when there is war.
21 People might say bad things about you with their sharp tongues.
But God will protect you.
You will not be afraid when bad things happen!
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine.
You will not be afraid of wild animals!
23 It is as if you have a peace treaty
with the wild animals and the rocks in the field.
24 You will live in peace because your tent is safe.
You will count your property and find nothing missing.
25 You will have many children.
They will be as many as the blades of grass on the earth.
26 You will be like the wheat that grows until harvest time.
Yes, you will live to a ripe old age.
27 “We have studied this and know it is true.
So listen to us, and learn for yourself.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International