The Message Bible MSG
King James Version KJV
1 "Call for help, Job, if you think anyone will answer! To which of the holy angels will you turn?
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Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
2 The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him, the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in.
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For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
3 I've seen it myself - seen fools putting down roots, and then, suddenly, their houses are cursed.
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I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 Their children out in the cold, abused and exploited, with no one to stick up for them.
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His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
5 Hungry people off the street plunder their harvests, cleaning them out completely, taking thorns and all, insatiable for everything they have.
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Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
6 Don't blame fate when things go wrong - trouble doesn't come from nowhere.
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Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 It's human! Mortals are born and bred for trouble, as certainly as sparks fly upward. What a Blessing When God Corrects You!
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Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 "If I were in your shoes, I'd go straight to God, I'd throw myself on the mercy of God.
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I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
9 After all, he's famous for great and unexpected acts; there's no end to his surprises.
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Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
10 He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth, sends water to irrigate the fields.
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Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
11 He raises up the down-and-out, gives firm footing to those sinking in grief.
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To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
12 He aborts the schemes of conniving crooks, so that none of their plots come to term.
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He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
13 He catches the know-it-alls in their conspiracies - all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash!
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He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
14 Suddenly they're disoriented, plunged into darkness; they can't see to put one foot in front of the other.
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They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
15 But the downtrodden are saved by God, saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist.
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But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
16 And so the poor continue to hope, while injustice is bound and gagged.
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So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
17 "So, what a blessing when God steps in and corrects you! Mind you, don't despise the discipline of Almighty God!
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Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 True, he wounds, but he also dresses the wound; the same hand that hurts you, heals you.
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For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19 From one disaster after another he delivers you; no matter what the calamity, the evil can't touch you -
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He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
20 "In famine, he'll keep you from starving, in war, from being gutted by the sword.
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In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
21 You'll be protected from vicious gossip and live fearless through any catastrophe.
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Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 You'll shrug off disaster and famine, and stroll fearlessly among wild animals.
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At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 You'll be on good terms with rocks and mountains; wild animals will become your good friends.
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For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24 You'll know that your place on earth is safe, you'll look over your goods and find nothing amiss.
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And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
25 You'll see your children grow up, your family lovely and lissome as orchard grass.
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Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 You'll arrive at your grave ripe with many good years, like sheaves of golden grain at harvest.
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Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
27 "Yes, this is the way things are - my word of honor! Take it to heart and you won't go wrong." Job Replies to Eliphaz
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Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.
The King James Version is in the public domain.