Job 5-6

Job 5

¹Call, I pray thee! Is there any that answereth thee? and to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?

²For vexation killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the simple.

³I myself saw the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation.

⁴His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer:

⁵Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh even out of the thorns; and the snare gapeth for his substance.

⁶For evil cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

⁷For man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards.

⁸But as for me I will seek unto God, and unto God commit my cause;

⁹Who doeth great things and unsearchable, marvellous things without number;

¹⁰Who giveth rain on the face of the earth, and sendeth waters on the face of the fields;

¹¹Setting up on high those that are low; and mourners are exalted to prosperity.

¹²He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, and their hands carry not out the enterprise.

¹³He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong:

¹⁴They meet with darkness in a the daytime, and grope at midday as in the night.

¹⁵And he saveth the needy from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.

¹⁶So the poor hath what he hopeth for, and unrighteousness stoppeth her mouth.

¹⁷Behold, happy is the man whom +God correcteth; therefore despise not the chastening of the Almighty.

¹⁸For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole.

¹⁹He will deliver thee in six troubles, and in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

²⁰In famine he will redeem thee from death, and in war from the power of the sword.

²¹Thou shalt be hidden from the scourge of the tongue; and thou shalt not be afraid of destruction when it cometh.

²²At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, and of the beasts of the earth thou shalt not be afraid.

²³For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

²⁴And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; and thou wilt survey thy fold, and miss nothing.

²⁵And thou shalt know that thy seed is numerous, and thine offspring as the herb of the earth.

²⁶Thou shalt come to the grave in a ripe age, as a shock of corn is brought in in its season.

²⁷Behold this, we have searched it out, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thyself.

Job 6

¹And Job answered and said,

²Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!

³For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas; therefore my words are vehement.

⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, their poison drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of +God are arrayed against me.

⁵Doth the wild ass bray by the grass? loweth an ox over his fodder?

⁶Shall that which is insipid be eaten without salt? Is there any taste in the white of an egg?

⁷What my soul refuseth to touch, that is as my loathsome food.

⁸Oh that I might have my request, and that +God would grant my desire!

⁹And that it would please +God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

¹⁰Then should I yet have comfort; and in the pain which spareth not I would rejoice that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should have patience?

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones? is my flesh of brass?

¹³Is it not that there is no help in me, and soundness is driven away from me?

¹⁴For him that is fainting kindness is meet from his friend; or he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a stream, as the channel of streams which pass away,

¹⁶Which are turbid by reason of the ice, in which the snow hideth itself:

¹⁷At the time they diminish, they are dried up; when heat affecteth them, they vanish from their place:

¹⁸They wind about in the paths of their course, they go off into the waste and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba counted on them:

²⁰They are ashamed at their hope; they come thither, and are confounded.

²¹So now ye are nothing; ye see a terrible object and are afraid.

²²Did I say, Bring unto me, and make me a present from your substance?

²³Or, rescue me from the hand of the oppressor, and redeem me from the hand of the violent?

²⁴Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

²⁵How forcible are right words! but what doth your upbraiding reprove?

²⁶Do ye imagine to reprove words? The speeches of one that is desperate are indeed for the wind.

²⁷Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and dig a pit for your friend.

²⁸Now therefore if ye will, look upon me; and it shall be to your face if I lie.

²⁹Return, I pray you, let there be no wrong; yea, return again, my righteousness shall be in it.

³⁰Is there wrong in my tongue? cannot my taste discern mischievous things?