Job 5, Job 12 | ESV | STEP | Call now ; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn ?

Job 5

1 “Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?
To which of ^athe holy ones will you turn?
2 Surely vexation kills the fool,
and jealousy slays the simple.
3 ^bI have seen the fool taking root,
but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
4 His children are ^cfar from safety;
they are crushed in ^dthe gate,
and there is no one to deliver them.
5 The hungry eat his harvest,
and he takes it even out of thorns, ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
and the thirsty pant ^{▼▼Aquila, Symmachus, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew could be read as and the snare pants} after his ^{▼▼Hebrew their} wealth.
6 For affliction does not come from the dust,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
7 but man is ^hborn to trouble
as the sparks fly upward.
8 “As for me, I would seek God,
and to God would I commit my cause,
9 who ⁱdoes great things and ^junsearchable,
^kmarvelous things without number:
10 he gives ^lrain on the earth
and sends waters on the fields;
11 he ^msets on high those who are lowly,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
12 He ⁿfrustrates the devices of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
13 He ^ocatches the wise in their own craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime
and ^pgrope at noonday as in the night.
15 But he ^qsaves the needy from the sword of their mouth
and from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor have hope,
and ^rinjustice shuts her mouth.
17 “Behold, ^sblessed is the one whom God reproves;
therefore ^tdespise not the discipline of the ^uAlmighty.
18 For he wounds, but he ^vbinds up;
he ^wshatters, but his hands heal.
19 He will ^xdeliver you from six troubles;
in seven no ^yevil ^{▼▼Or disaster} shall touch you.
20 ^aaIn famine he will redeem you from death,
and in war from the power of the sword.
21 You shall be ^abhidden from the lash of the tongue,
and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
22 At destruction and famine you shall laugh,
and shall not fear ^acthe beasts of the earth.
23 For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,
and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
24 You shall know that your ^adtent is at peace,
and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
25 You shall know also that your ^aeoffspring shall be many,
and your descendants as ^afthe grass of the earth.
26 You shall come to your grave in ^agripe old age,
like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
27 Behold, this we have ^ahsearched out; it is true.
Hear, and know it for your good.” ^{▼▼Hebrew for yourself}

Job 12

Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This

1 Then Job answered and said:

2 “No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
3 But I have ^ajunderstanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know ^aksuch things as these?
4 I am ^ala laughingstock to my friends;
I, who ^amcalled to God and he answered me,
a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.
5 In the thought of one who is ^anat ease there is contempt for misfortune;
it is ready for those whose feet slip.
6 ^aoThe tents of robbers are at peace,
and those who provoke God are secure,
who bring their god in their hand. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
7 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;
the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;
8 or the bushes of the earth, ^{▼▼Or speak to the earth} and they will teach you;
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
9 Who among all these does not know
that ^arthe hand of the Lord has done this?
10 In ^ashis hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
11 Does not ^atthe ear test words
as the palate tastes food?
12 Wisdom is with ^authe aged,
and understanding in length of days.
13 ^av“With God ^{▼▼Hebrew him} are wisdom and might;
he has counsel and understanding.
14 If he tears down, none can rebuild;
if he ^axshuts a man in, none can open.
15 If he ^aywithholds the waters, they dry up;
if he ^azsends them out, they overwhelm the land.
16 With him are strength and ^basound wisdom;
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
17 He leads ^bbcounselors away stripped,
and ^bcjudges he makes fools.
18 He ^bdlooses the bonds of kings
and binds a waistcloth on their hips.
19 He leads priests away stripped
and overthrows the mighty.
20 He deprives of speech those who are trusted
^beand takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 He ^bfpours contempt on princes
and loosens the belt of the strong.
22 He ^bguncovers the deeps out of darkness
and brings ^bhdeep darkness to light.
23 He ^bimakes nations great, and he destroys them;
he enlarges nations, and ^bjleads them away.
24 He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth
and ^bkmakes them wander in a trackless waste.
25 They ^blgrope in the dark without light,
and he makes them ^bmstagger like a drunken man.