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Eliphaz: As for you, Job, feel free to call, but will anyone reply?
        Among His holy attendants, to whom will you turn?
    Remember, anger kills off the foolish,
        and jealous indignation closes in on the simple for the kill.
    I have seen a fool putting down roots, apparently succeeding,
        and immediately I cursed his house, knowing this brings destruction.
    His children are far from safe,
        crushed in full view of the city’s gate with no defender nearby.
    Hungry raiders consume his crops,
        harvesting even where the thorns stand guard[a]
        while drifters and con-men target his wealth.
    You see, sorrow is not a natural product of the soil,
        nor is trouble known to sprout up from the earth itself.
    Still humankind is born into trouble,
        just as embers break loose and fly from the fire.

    This is why, if I were you, I would appeal to God;
        I would lay my cause at the feet of the Lord.
    He does wonderful things that confound,
        infinite numbers of miracles.
10     He gives rain to the earth,
        sends down water to the fields;
11     He lifts up the downtrodden, bolsters the bereaved,
        raising them to safety.
12     He thwarts the plots of the devious
        and ties their hands to failure.
13     He catches the clever in their deceitful plotting[b]
        so the plans of the crafty are swept away.
14     Their day turns to darkness;
        they grope at noon as they do in blackest night.
15     He saves the needy from the cutting sword,
        and from the perilous grip of the powerful.
16     So there is still hope for the helpless;
        and the mouth of injustice is muzzled.

17     Remember, a happy man accepts God’s correction,
        so don’t despise the discipline of the Highest God.[c]
18     For the Lord may cut, but He stitches up;
        He may wound, but His hands also heal.
19     In six different perils, He will rescue you;
        even in seven, evil will not touch you;
20     In famine, He will save you from starvation;
        and in war, you won’t be run through with the sword;
21     In slanderous situations, you will go unharmed;
        in the face of chaotic destruction, you won’t tremble;
22     In violence and famine, you will laugh;
        in the presence of wild animals, you won’t quiver.
23     The stones of the field will sign a treaty with you,
        and you’ll enjoy a truce with the ravenous beasts.
24     You can rest knowing your tent is invincible;
        for when you visit your pastures, nothing will be missing.
25     Your children and their children will be abundant,
        as the blades of grass in the fields.
26     You will arrive hearty and undiminished at the grave after a long life,
        like a pile of grain harvested at its peak ripeness.
27     We’ve all thought this through. It’s true, and you should hear it.
        So hear it well, and know it completely.

Footnotes

  1. 5:5 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  2. 5:13 1 Corinthians 3:19
  3. 5:17 Hebrew, Shaddai

“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.

“But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.(P)
He performs wonders(Q) that cannot be fathomed,(R)
    miracles that cannot be counted.(S)
10 He provides rain for the earth;(T)
    he sends water on the countryside.(U)
11 The lowly he sets on high,(V)
    and those who mourn(W) are lifted(X) to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans(Y) of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.(Z)
13 He catches the wise(AA) in their craftiness,(AB)
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.(AC)
14 Darkness(AD) comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.(AE)
15 He saves the needy(AF) from the sword in their mouth;
    he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.(AG)
16 So the poor(AH) have hope,
    and injustice shuts its mouth.(AI)

17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;(AJ)
    so do not despise the discipline(AK) of the Almighty.[a](AL)
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;(AM)
    he injures, but his hands also heal.(AN)
19 From six calamities he will rescue(AO) you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.(AP)
20 In famine(AQ) he will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.(AR)
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,(AS)
    and need not fear(AT) when destruction comes.(AU)
22 You will laugh(AV) at destruction and famine,(AW)
    and need not fear the wild animals.(AX)
23 For you will have a covenant(AY) with the stones(AZ) of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.(BA)
24 You will know that your tent is secure;(BB)
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.(BC)
25 You will know that your children will be many,(BD)
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.(BE)
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,(BF)
    like sheaves gathered in season.(BG)

27 “We have examined this, and it is true.
    So hear it(BH) and apply it to yourself.”(BI)

Footnotes

  1. Job 5:17 Hebrew Shaddai; here and throughout Job