Job 5 (New International Version)

1 "Call if you will, but who will answer you?¹ To which of the holy ones² will you turn? 2 Resentment³ kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.⁴ 3 I myself have seen⁵ a fool taking root,⁶ but suddenly⁷ his house was cursed.⁸ 4 His children⁹ are far from safety,¹⁰ crushed in court¹¹ without a defender.¹² 5 The hungry consume his harvest,¹³ 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.¹⁴ 7 Yet man is born to trouble¹⁵ as surely as sparks fly upward. 8 "But if it were I, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him.¹⁶ 9 He performs wonders¹⁷ that cannot be fathomed,¹⁸ miracles that cannot be counted.¹⁹ 10 He bestows rain on the earth;²⁰ he sends water upon the countryside.²¹ 11 The lowly he sets on high,²² and those who mourn²³ are lifted²⁴ to safety. 12 He thwarts the plans²⁵ of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success.²⁶ 13 He catches the wise²⁷ in their craftiness,²⁸ and the schemes of the wily are swept away.²⁹ 14 Darkness³⁰ comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night.³¹ 15 He saves the needy³² from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.³³ 16 So the poor³⁴ have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.³⁵ 17 "Blessed is the man whom God corrects;³⁶ so do not despise the discipline³⁷ of the Almighty.^a38 18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;³⁹ he injures, but his hands also heal.⁴⁰ 19 From six calamities he will rescue⁴¹ you; in seven no harm will befall you.⁴² 20 In famine⁴³ he will ransom you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.⁴⁴ 21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,⁴⁵ and need not fear⁴⁶ when destruction comes.⁴⁷ 22 You will laugh⁴⁸ at destruction and famine,⁴⁹ and need not fear the beasts of the earth.⁵⁰ 23 For you will have a covenant⁵¹ with the stones⁵² of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.⁵³ 24 You will know that your tent is secure;⁵⁴ you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.⁵⁵ 25 You will know that your children will be many,⁵⁶ and your descendants like the grass of the earth.⁵⁷ 26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,⁵⁸ like sheaves gathered in season.⁵⁹ 27 "We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it⁶⁰ and apply it to yourself."⁶¹