“Call if you will, but who will answer you?(A)
    To which of the holy ones(B) will you turn?
Resentment(C) kills a fool,
    and envy slays the simple.(D)
I myself have seen(E) a fool taking root,(F)
    but suddenly(G) his house was cursed.(H)
His children(I) are far from safety,(J)
    crushed in court(K) without a defender.(L)
The hungry consume his harvest,(M)
    taking it even from among thorns,
    and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
For hardship does not spring from the soil,
    nor does trouble sprout from the ground.(N)
Yet man is born to trouble(O)
    as surely as sparks fly upward.

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Job Is Corrected by God

“Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?(A)
Surely vexation kills the fool,
    and jealousy slays the simple.(B)
I have seen fools taking root,
    but suddenly I cursed their dwelling.(C)
Their children are far from safety,
    they are crushed in the gate,
    and there is no one to deliver them.(D)
The hungry eat their harvest,
    and they take it even out of the thorns,[a]
    and the thirsty[b] pant after their wealth.(E)
For misery does not come from the earth,
    nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
but humans are born to trouble
    just as sparks[c] fly upward.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 5.5 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 5.5 Aquila Symmachus Syr Vg: Heb snare
  3. 5.7 Or birds; Heb sons of Resheph