Job 5

Eliphaz urges Job to seek God

“Call out if you please, but who will answer? To which of the holy ones will you turn?a ²For resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple. ³I have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed.

⁴His sons are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender. ⁵The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth. ⁶For distress does not spring from the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.

⁷Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward.b ⁸However, if I were you, I would appeal to God and lay my cause before Him—c ⁹the One who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number.d

¹⁰He gives rain to the earth and sends water upon the fields. ¹¹He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety. ¹²He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.e

¹³He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.f ¹⁴They encounter darkness by day and grope at noon as in the night. ¹⁵He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth and from the clutches of the powerful.

¹⁶So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. ¹⁷Blessed indeed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.g ¹⁸For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.h

¹⁹He will rescue you from six calamities; no harm will touch you in seven.i ²⁰In famine He will redeem you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword.j ²¹You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and will not fear havoc when it comes.k

²²You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the beasts of the earth.l ²³For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you.m ²⁴You will know that your tent is secure, and find nothing amiss when inspecting your home.n

²⁵You will know that your offspring will be many, your descendants like the grass of the earth.o ²⁶You will come to the grave in full vigor, like a sheaf of grain gathered in season.p ²⁷Indeed, we have investigated, and it is true! So hear it and know for yourself.”