1 "Call if you will, but who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn? |
2 Resentment kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple. |
3 I myself have seen a fool taking root,
but suddenly his house was cursed. |
4 His children are far from safety,
crushed in court without a defender. |
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth. |
6 For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground. |
7 Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward. |
8 "But if it were I, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him. |
9 He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted. |
10 He bestows rain on the earth;
he sends water upon the countryside. |
11 The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety. |
12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success. |
13 He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away. |
14 Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night. |
15 He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful. |
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth. |
17 "Blessed is the man whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.1 5:17 Hebrew Shaddai ; here and throughout Job |
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal. |
19 From six calamities he will rescue you;
in seven no harm will befall you. |
20 In famine he will ransom you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword. |
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes. |
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine,
and need not fear the beasts of the earth. |
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you. |
24 You will know that your tent is secure;
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing. |
25 You will know that your children will be many,
and your descendants like the grass of the earth. |
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,
like sheaves gathered in season. |
27 "We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself." |
