Job 5

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The Discipline of the Almighty

“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

For vexation kills the ignorant fool,

And jealousy puts to death the simple.

I have seen the ignorant fool taking root,

And I cursed his abode suddenly.

His sons are far from salvation,

They are even crushed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

His harvest the hungry devour

And take it to a place of thorns,

And the schemer pants after their wealth.

For wickedness does not come out from the dust,

Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

For man is born for trouble,

As sparks fly upward.

“But as for me, I would seek God,

And I would set my cause before God,

Who does great and unsearchable things,

Wonders without number.

He gives rain on the earth

And sends water on the fields outside,

So that He sets on high those who are lowly,

And those who mourn are lifted to salvation.

He frustrates the thoughts of the crafty,

So that their hands cannot attain success of sound wisdom.

He catches the wise by their own craftiness,

And the counsel of the twisted is quickly thwarted.

By day they meet with darkness

And grope at noon as in the night.

But He saves from the sword of their mouth,

And the needy from the hand of the strong.

So the poor has hope,

And unrighteousness must shut its mouth.

“Behold, how blessed is the man whom God reproves,

So do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.

For He inflicts pain and gives relief;

He wounds, and His hands also heal.

From six distresses He will deliver you,

Even in seven evil will not touch you.

In famine He will redeem you from death,

And in war from hands with swords.

You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

And you will not be afraid of devastation when it comes.

You will laugh at devastation and starvation,

And you will not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

For your covenant will be with the stones of the field,

And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

You will know that your tent is at peace,

For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.

You will know also that your seed will be many,

And your offspring as the vegetation of the land.

You will come to the grave in full vigor,

Like the stacking of grain in its season.

Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.

Hear it, and know for yourself.”

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