Job 5; Job 6; Job 7

Job 5

1 "Call if you want to, Job, but no one will answer you. You can't turn to any of the holy ones.

2 Anger kills the fool, and jealousy slays the stupid.

3 I have seen a fool succeed, but I cursed his home immediately.

4 His children are far from safety and are crushed in court with no defense.

5 The hungry eat his harvest, even taking what grew among the thorns, and thirsty people want his wealth.

6 Hard times do not come up from the ground, and trouble does not grow from the earth.

7 People produce trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.

8 "But if I were you, I would call on God and bring my problem before him.

9 God does wonders that cannot be understood; he does so many miracles they cannot be counted.

10 He gives rain to the earth and sends water on the fields.

11 He makes the humble person important and lifts the sad to places of safety.

12 He ruins the plans of those who trick others so they have no success.

13 He catches the wise in their own clever traps and sweeps away the plans of those who try to trick others.

14 Darkness covers them up in the daytime; even at noon they feel around in the dark.

15 God saves the needy from their lies and from the harm done by powerful people.

16 So the poor have hope, while those who are unfair are silenced.

17 "The one whom God corrects is happy, so do not hate being corrected by the Almighty.

18 God hurts, but he also bandages up; he injures, but his hands also heal.

19 He will save you from six troubles; even seven troubles will not harm you.

20 God will buy you back from death in times of hunger, and in battle he will save you from the sword.

21 You will be protected from the tongue that strikes like a whip, and you will not be afraid when destruction comes.

22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger, and you will not fear the wild animals,

23 because you will have an agreement with the stones in the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.

24 You will know that your tent is safe, because you will check the things you own and find nothing missing.

25 You will know that you will have many children, and your descendants will be like the grass on the earth.

26 You will come to the grave with all your strength, like bundles of grain gathered at the right time.

27 "We have checked this, and it is true, so hear it and decide what it means to you."

Job 6

1 Then Job answered:

2 "I wish my suffering could be weighed and my misery put on scales.

3 My sadness would be heavier than the sand of the seas. No wonder my words seem careless.

4 The arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks in their poison; God's terrors are gathered against me.

5 A wild donkey does not bray when it has grass to eat, and an ox is quiet when it has feed.

6 Tasteless food is not eaten without salt, and there is no flavor in the white of an egg.

7 I refuse to touch it; such food makes me sick.

8 "How I wish that I might have what I ask for and that God would give me what I hope for.

9 How I wish God would crush me and reach out his hand to destroy me.

10 Then I would have this comfort and be glad even in this unending pain, because I would know I did not reject the words of the Holy One.

11 "I do not have the strength to wait. There is nothing to hope for, so why should I be patient?

12 I do not have the strength of stone; my flesh is not bronze.

13 I have no power to help myself, because success has been taken away from me.

14 "They say, 'A man's friends should be kind to him when he is in trouble, even if he stops fearing the Almighty.'

15 But my brothers cannot be counted on. They are like streams that do not always flow, streams that sometimes run over.

16 They are made dark by melting ice and rise with melting snow.

17 But they stop flowing in the dry season; they disappear when it is hot.

18 Travelers turn away from their paths and go into the desert and die.

19 The groups of travelers from Tema look for water, and the traders of Sheba look hopefully.

20 They are upset because they had been sure; when they arrive, they are disappointed.

21 You also have been no help. You see something terrible, and you are afraid.

22 I have never said, 'Give me a gift. Use your wealth to pay my debt.

23 Save me from the enemy's power. Buy me back from the clutches of cruel people.'

24 "Teach me, and I will be quiet. Show me where I have been wrong.

25 Honest words are painful, but your arguments prove nothing.

26 Do you mean to correct what I say? Will you treat the words of a troubled man as if they were only wind?

27 You would even gamble for orphans and would trade away your friend.

28 "But now please look at me. I would not lie to your face.

29 Change your mind; do not be unfair; think again, because my innocence is being questioned.

30 What I am saying is not wicked; I can tell the difference between right and wrong.

Job 7

1 "People have a hard task on earth, and their days are like those of a laborer.

2 They are like a slave wishing for the evening shadows, like a laborer waiting to be paid.

3 But I am given months that are empty, and nights of misery have been given to me.

4 When I lie down, I think, 'How long until I get up?' The night is long, and I toss until dawn.

5 My body is covered with worms and scabs, and my skin is broken and full of sores.

6 "My days go by faster than a weaver's tool, and they come to an end without hope.

7 Remember, God, that my life is only a breath. My eyes will never see happy times again.

8 Those who see me now will see me no more; you will look for me, but I will be gone.

9 As a cloud disappears and is gone, people go to the grave and never return.

10 They will never come back to their houses again, and their places will not know them anymore.

11 "So I will not stay quiet; I will speak out in the suffering of my spirit. I will complain because I am so unhappy.

12 I am not the sea or the sea monster. So why have you set a guard over me?

13 Sometimes I think my bed will comfort me or that my couch will stop my complaint.

14 Then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions.

15 My throat prefers to be choked; my bones welcome death.

16 I hate my life; I don't want to live forever. Leave me alone, because my days have no meaning.

17 "Why do you make people so important and give them so much attention?

18 You examine them every morning and test them every moment.

19 Will you never look away from me or leave me alone even long enough to swallow?

20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you watcher of humans? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a heavy load for you?

21 Why don't you pardon my wrongs and forgive my sins? I will soon lie down in the dust of death. Then you will search for me, but I will be no more."