Job 5-6

Christian Standard Bible

5 Call out! Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones^(A) will you turn to?
² For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible.^(B)
3 I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.
⁴ His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate,^(C)
with no one to rescue them.
⁵ The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.^[a]
The thirsty^[b] pant for his children’s wealth.
⁶ For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
⁷ But humans are born for trouble^(D)
as surely as sparks fly upward.

⁸ However, if I were you, I would appeal to God
and would present my case to him.^(E)
9 He does great^(F) and unsearchable things,
wonders without number.^(G)
10 He gives rain to the earth
and sends water to the fields.^(H)
11 He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety.^(I)
12 He frustrates the schemes of the crafty
so that they^[c] achieve no success.
¹³ He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end.^(J)
14 They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night.^(K)
15 He saves the needy from their sharp words^[d](L)
and from the clutches of the powerful.
¹⁶ So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.^(M)
17 See how happy is the person whom God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
¹⁸ For he wounds but he also bandages;
he strikes, but his hands also heal.^(N)
19 He will rescue you from six calamities;
no harm will touch you in seven.
²⁰ In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in battle, from the power of the sword.^(O)
21 You will be safe from slander^[e]
and not fear destruction when it comes.^(P)
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger
and not fear the land’s wild creatures.
²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.^(Q)
24 You will know that your tent is secure,^(R)
and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home.
²⁵ You will also know that your offspring will be many
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
²⁶ You will approach the grave^(S) in full vigor,^(T)
as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.

²⁷ We have investigated this, and it is true!
Hear it and understand it for yourself.

⁸ If only my request would be granted
and God would provide what I hope for:
⁹ that he would decide to crush me,
to unleash his power and cut me off!
¹⁰ It would still bring me comfort,
and I would leap for joy in unrelenting pain
that I have not denied^[h] the words of the Holy One.^(Y)

¹¹ What strength do I have, that I should continue to hope?
What is my future, that I should be patient?
¹² Is my strength that of stone,
or my flesh made of bronze?
¹³ Since I cannot help myself,
the hope for success has been banished from me.

¹⁴ A despairing man should receive loyalty from his friends,^[i](Z)
even if he abandons the fear of the Almighty.
¹⁵ My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,
as seasonal streams that overflow
¹⁶ and become darkened^[j] because of ice,
and the snow melts into them.
¹⁷ The wadis evaporate in warm weather;
they disappear from their channels in hot weather.
¹⁸ Caravans turn away from their routes,
go up into the desert, and perish.
¹⁹ The caravans of Tema look for these streams.
The traveling merchants of Sheba hope for them.
²⁰ They are ashamed because they had been confident of finding water.
When they arrive there, they are disappointed.^(AA)
21 So this is what you have now become to me.^[k]
When you see something dreadful, you are afraid.
²² Have I ever said, “Give me something”
or “Pay a bribe for me from your wealth”
²³ or “Deliver me from the enemy’s hand”
or “Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless”?

²⁴ Teach me, and I will be silent.
Help me understand what I did wrong.
²⁵ How painful honest words can be!
But what does your rebuke prove?
²⁶ Do you think that you can disprove my words
or that a despairing man’s words are mere wind?^(AB)
27 No doubt you would cast lots for a fatherless child
and negotiate a price to sell your friend.^(AC)

²⁸ But now, please look at me;
I will not lie to your face.^(AD)
29 Reconsider; don’t be unjust.
Reconsider; my righteousness^(AE) is still the issue.
³⁰ Is there injustice on my tongue
or can my palate not taste disaster?^(AF)