The Message Bible MSG
World English Bible WEB
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; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you 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 resentment kills the foolish man, 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 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, 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 eats up, And take it even out of the thorns; The snare gapes for their substance.
6 Don't blame fate when things go wrong - trouble doesn't come from nowhere.
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For affliction doesn't come forth from the dust, Neither does 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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But man is born to 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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"But as for me, I would seek God, To 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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Who does great things that can't be fathomed, Marvelous things without number;
10 He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth, sends water to irrigate the fields.
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Who gives rain on the earth, And sends waters on the fields;
11 He raises up the down-and-out, gives firm footing to those sinking in grief.
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So that he sets up on high those who are low, Those who mourn are 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 frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands can't 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 takes the wise in their own craftiness; The counsel of the cunning 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 day-time, And grope at 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 saves from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy 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 has hope, And injustice shuts 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 corrects: Therefore do not despise 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 wounds, and binds up; He injures, 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 will deliver you in six troubles; Yes, in seven there shall no evil touch you.
20 "In famine, he'll keep you from starving, in war, from being gutted by the sword.
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In famine he will redeem you from death; 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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You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, Neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes.
22 You'll shrug off disaster and famine, and stroll fearlessly among wild animals.
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At destruction and famine you shall laugh, Neither shall you be afraid of the animals 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 you shall be in league with the stones of the field. The animals of the field shall 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 shall know that your tent is in peace. You shall visit your fold, and shall miss nothing.
25 You'll see your children grow up, your family lovely and lissome as orchard grass.
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You shall know also that your seed shall be great, Your 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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You shall come to your grave in a full age, Like a shock of grain comes in its 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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Look this, we have searched it, so it is; Hear it, and know it for your good."