Job 5:1-10

1 "Call for help, Job, if you think anyone will answer! To which of the holy angels will you turn?
2 The hot temper of a fool eventually kills him, the jealous anger of a simpleton does her in.
3 I've seen it myself - seen fools putting down roots, and then, suddenly, their houses are cursed.
4 Their children out in the cold, abused and exploited, with no one to stick up for them.
5 Hungry people off the street plunder their harvests, cleaning them out completely, taking thorns and all, insatiable for everything they have.
6 Don't blame fate when things go wrong - trouble doesn't come from nowhere.
7 It's human! Mortals are born and bred for trouble, as certainly as sparks fly upward. What a Blessing When God Corrects You!
8 "If I were in your shoes, I'd go straight to God, I'd throw myself on the mercy of God.
9 After all, he's famous for great and unexpected acts; there's no end to his surprises.
10 He gives rain, for instance, across the wide earth, sends water to irrigate the fields.
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.