Job 5

1 Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?

2 For vexation killeth the foolish man, And jealousy slayeth the silly one.

3 I have seen the foolish taking root: But suddenly I cursed his habitation.

4 His children are far from safety, And they are crushed in the gate, Neither is there any to deliver them:

5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, And taketh it even out of the thorns; And the snare gapeth for their substance.

6 For affliction cometh not forth from the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

7 But man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward.

8 But as for me, I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause;

9 Who doeth great things and unsearchable, Marvellous things without number:

10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth waters upon the fields;

11 So that he setteth up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety.

12 He frustrateth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.

14 They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night.

15 But he saveth from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty.

16 So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.

18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and his hands make whole.

19 He will deliver thee in six troubles; Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

20 In famine he will redeem thee from death; And in war from the power of the sword.

21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue; Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.

22 At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh; Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.

24 And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; And thou shalt visit thy fold, and shalt miss nothing.

25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.

26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, Like as a shock of grain cometh in in its season.

27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; Hear it, and know thou it for thy good.

Job 6

1 Then Job answered and said,

2 Oh that my vexation were but weighed, And all my calamity laid in the balances!

3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas: Therefore have my words been rash.

4 For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, The poison whereof my spirit drinketh up: The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? Or loweth the ox over his fodder?

6 Can that which hath no savor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

7 My soul refuseth to touch them; They are as loathsome food to me.

8 Oh that I might have my request; And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

9 Even that it would please God to crush me; That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

10 And be it still my consolation, Yea, let me exult in pain that spareth not, That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11 What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is mine end, that I should be patient?

12 Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass?

13 Is it not that I have no help in me, And that wisdom is driven quite from me?

14 To him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend; Even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, As the channel of brooks that pass away;

16 Which are black by reason of the ice, And wherein the snow hideth itself:

17 What time they wax warm, they vanish; When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

18 The caravans that travel by the way of them turn aside; They go up into the waste, and perish.

19 The caravans of Tema looked, The companies of Sheba waited for them.

20 They were put to shame because they had hoped; They came thither, and were confounded.

21 For now ye are nothing; Ye see a terror, and are afraid.

22 Did I say, Give unto me? Or, Offer a present for me of your substance?

23 Or, Deliver me from the adversary’s hand? Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?

24 Teach me, and I will hold my peace; And cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

25 How forcible are words of uprightness! But your reproof, what doth it reprove?

26 Do ye think to reprove words, Seeing that the speeches of one that is desperate are as wind?

27 Yea, ye would cast lots upon the fatherless, And make merchandise of your friend.

28 Now therefore be pleased to look upon me; For surely I shall not lie to your face.

29 Return, I pray you, let there be no injustice; Yea, return again, my cause is righteous.

30 Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern mischievous things?

Job 7

1 Is there not a warfare to man upon earth? And are not his days like the days of a hireling?

2 As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow, And as a hireling that looketh for his wages:

3 So am I made to possess months of misery, And wearisome nights are appointed to me.

4 When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

5 My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; My skin closeth up, and breaketh out afresh.

6 My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, And are spent without hope.

7 Oh remember that my life is a breath: Mine eye shall no more see good.

8 The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more; Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be.

9 As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more.

10 He shall return no more to his house, Neither shall his place know him any more.

11 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12 Am I a sea, or a sea-monster, That thou settest a watch over me?

13 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, My couch shall ease my complaint;

14 Then thou scarest me with dreams, And terrifiest me through visions:

15 So that my soul chooseth strangling, And death rather than these my bones.

16 I loathe my life; I would not live alway: Let me alone; for my days are vanity.

17 What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him, And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him,

18 And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, And try him every moment?

19 How long wilt thou not look away from me, Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?

20 If I have sinned, what do I unto thee, O thou watcher of men? Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee, So that I am a burden to myself?

21 And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? For now shall I lie down in the dust; And thou wilt seek me diligently, but I shall not be.