The Message Bible MSG
New Living Translation NLT
1 "Call for help, Job, if you think anyone will answer! To which of the holy angels will you turn?
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“Cry for help, but will anyone answer you? Which of the angels will help you?
2 The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him, the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in.
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Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.
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 that fools may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster.
4 Their children out in the cold, abused and exploited, with no one to stick up for them.
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Their children are abandoned far from help; they are crushed in court with no one to defend 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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The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant after their wealth.
6 Don't blame fate when things go wrong - trouble doesn't come from nowhere.
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But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth.
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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People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.
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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“If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him.
9 After all, he's famous for great and unexpected acts; there's no end to his surprises.
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He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.
10 He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth, sends water to irrigate the fields.
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He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields.
11 He raises up the down-and-out, gives firm footing to those sinking in grief.
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He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer.
12 He aborts the schemes of conniving crooks, so that none of their plots come to term.
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He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed.
13 He catches the know-it-alls in their conspiracies - all that intricate intrigue swept out with the trash!
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He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted.
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 find it is dark in the daytime, and they grope at noon as if it were night.
15 But the downtrodden are saved by God, saved from the murderous plots, saved from the iron fist.
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He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong, and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.
16 And so the poor continue to hope, while injustice is bound and gagged.
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And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.
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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“But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.
18 True, he wounds, but he also dresses the wound; the same hand that hurts you, heals you.
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For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal.
19 From one disaster after another he delivers you; no matter what the calamity, the evil can't touch you -
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From six disasters he will rescue you; even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.
20 "In famine, he'll keep you from starving, in war, from being gutted by the sword.
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He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war.
21 You'll be protected from vicious gossip and live fearless through any catastrophe.
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You will be safe from slander and have no fear when destruction comes.
22 You'll shrug off disaster and famine, and stroll fearlessly among wild animals.
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You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you.
23 You'll be on good terms with rocks and mountains; wild animals will become your good friends.
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You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you.
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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You will know that your home is safe. When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.
25 You'll see your children grow up, your family lovely and lissome as orchard grass.
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You will have many children; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!
26 You'll arrive at your grave ripe with many good years, like sheaves of golden grain at harvest.
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You will go to the grave at a ripe old age, like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!
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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“We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.”
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.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.