Job 5:1-27 VOICE

[1] Eliphaz: As for you, Job, feel free to call, but will anyone reply? Among His holy attendants, to whom will you turn? [2] Remember, anger kills off the foolish, and jealous indignation closes in on the simple for the kill. [3] I have seen a fool putting down roots, apparently succeeding, and immediately I cursed his house, knowing this brings destruction. [4] His children are far from safe, crushed in full view of the city's gate with no defender nearby. [5] Hungry raiders consume his crops, harvesting even where the thorns stand guard while drifters and con-men target his wealth. [6] You see, sorrow is not a natural product of the soil, nor is trouble known to sprout up from the earth itself. [7] Still humankind is born into trouble, just as embers break loose and fly from the fire. [8] This is why, if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause at the feet of the Lord. [9] He does wonderful things that confound, infinite numbers of miracles. [10] He gives rain to the earth, sends down water to the fields; [11] He lifts up the downtrodden, bolsters the bereaved, raising them to safety. [12] He thwarts the plots of the devious and ties their hands to failure. [13] He catches the clever in their deceitful plotting so the plans of the crafty are swept away. [14] Their day turns to darkness; they grope at noon as they do in blackest night. [15] He saves the needy from the cutting sword, and from the perilous grip of the powerful. [16] So there is still hope for the helpless; and the mouth of injustice is muzzled. [17] Remember, a happy man accepts God's correction, so don't despise the discipline of the Highest God. [18] For the Lord may cut, but He stitches up; He may wound, but His hands also heal. [19] In six different perils, He will rescue you; even in seven, evil will not touch you; [20] In famine, He will save you from starvation; and in war, you won't be run through with the sword; [21] In slanderous situations, you will go unharmed; in the face of chaotic destruction, you won't tremble; [22] In violence and famine, you will laugh; in the presence of wild animals, you won't quiver. [23] The stones of the field will sign a treaty with you, and you'll enjoy a truce with the ravenous beasts. [24] You can rest knowing your tent is invincible; for when you visit your pastures, nothing will be missing. [25] Your children and their children will be abundant, as the blades of grass in the fields. [26] You will arrive hearty and undiminished at the grave after a long life, like a pile of grain harvested at its peak ripeness. [27] We've all thought this through. It's true, and you should hear it. So hear it well, and know it completely.