Job 5; Job 6; Job 7

Job 5

1 Call out, Job. See if anyone answers. Is there any angel to whom you can turn?

2 To worry yourself to death with resentment would be a foolish, senseless thing to do.

3 I have seen fools who looked secure, but I called down a sudden curse on their homes.

4 Their children can never find safety; no one stands up to defend them in court.

5 Hungry people will eat the fool's crops - even the grain growing among thorns - and thirsty people will envy his wealth.

6 Evil does not grow in the soil, nor does trouble grow out of the ground.

7 No indeed! We bring trouble on ourselves, as surely as sparks fly up from a fire.

8 If I were you, I would turn to God and present my case to him.

9 We cannot understand the great things he does, and to his miracles there is no end.

10 He sends rain on the land and he waters the fields.

11 Yes, it is God who raises the humble and gives joy to all who mourn.

12 He upsets the plans of cunning people, and traps the wise in their own schemes, so that nothing they do succeeds;

14 even at noon they grope in darkness.

15 But God saves the poor from death; he saves the needy from oppression.

16 He gives hope to the poor and silences the wicked.

17 Happy is the person whom God corrects! Do not resent it when he rebukes you.

18 God bandages the wounds he makes; his hand hurts you, and his hand heals.

19 Time after time he will save you from harm;

20 when famine comes, he will keep you alive, and in war protect you from death.

21 God will rescue you from slander; he will save you when destruction comes.

22 You will laugh at violence and hunger and not be afraid of wild animals.

23 The fields you plow will be free of rocks; wild animals will never attack you.

24 Then you will live at peace in your tent; when you look at your sheep, you will find them safe.

25 You will have as many children as there are blades of grass in a pasture.

26 Like wheat that ripens till harvest time, you will live to a ripe old age.

27 Job, we have learned this by long study. It is true, so now accept it.

Job 6

1 If my troubles and griefs

2 were weighed on scales,

3 they would weigh more than the sands of the sea, so my wild words should not surprise you.

4 Almighty God has shot me with arrows, and their poison spreads through my body. God has lined up his terrors against me.

5 A donkey is content when eating grass, and a cow is quiet when eating hay.

6 But who can eat flat, unsalted food? What taste is there in the white of an egg?

7 I have no appetite for food like that, and everything I eat makes me sick.

8 Why won't God give me what I ask? Why won't he answer my prayer?

9 If only he would go ahead and kill me!

10 If I knew he would, I would leap for joy, no matter how great my pain. I know that God is holy; I have never opposed what he commands.

11 What strength do I have to keep on living? Why go on living when I have no hope?

12 Am I made of stone? Is my body bronze?

13 I have no strength left to save myself; there is nowhere I can turn for help.

14 In trouble like this I need loyal friends - whether I've forsaken God or not.

15 But you, my friends, you deceive me like streams that go dry when no rain comes.

16 The streams are choked with snow and ice,

17 but in the heat they disappear, and the stream beds lie bare and dry.

18 Caravans get lost looking for water; they wander and die in the desert.

19 Caravans from Sheba and Tema search,

20 but their hope dies beside dry streams.

21 You are like those streams to me, you see my fate and draw back in fear.

22 Have I asked you to give me a gift or to bribe someone on my behalf

23 or to save me from some enemy or tyrant?

24 All right, teach me; tell me my faults. I will be quiet and listen to you.

25 Honest words are convincing, but you are talking nonsense.

26 You think I am talking nothing but wind; then why do you answer my words of despair?

27 You would even roll dice for orphan slaves and make yourselves rich off your closest friends!

28 Look me in the face. I won't lie.

29 You have gone far enough. Stop being unjust. Don't condemn me. I'm in the right.

30 But you think I am lying - you think I can't tell right from wrong.

Job 7

1 Human life is like forced army service, like a life of hard manual labor,

2 like a slave longing for cool shade; like a worker waiting to be paid.

3 Month after month I have nothing to live for; night after night brings me grief.

4 When I lie down to sleep, the hours drag; I toss all night and long for dawn.

5 My body is full of worms; it is covered with scabs; pus runs out of my sores.

6 My days pass by without hope, pass faster than a weaver's shuttle.

7 Remember, O God, my life is only a breath; my happiness has already ended.

8 You see me now, but never again. If you look for me, I'll be gone.

9 Like a cloud that fades and is gone, we humans die and never return; we are forgotten by all who knew us.

11 No! I can't be quiet! I am angry and bitter. I have to speak.

12 Why do you keep me under guard? Do you think I am a sea monster?

13 I lie down and try to rest; I look for relief from my pain.

14 But you - you terrify me with dreams; you send me visions and nightmares

15 until I would rather be strangled than live in this miserable body.

16 I give up; I am tired of living. Leave me alone. My life makes no sense.

17 Why are people so important to you? Why pay attention to what they do?

18 You inspect them every morning and test them every minute.

19 Won't you look away long enough for me to swallow my spit?

20 Are you harmed by my sin, you jailer? Why use me for your target practice? Am I so great a burden to you?

21 Can't you ever forgive my sin? Can't you pardon the wrong I do? Soon I will be in my grave, and I'll be gone when you look for me.