5 “Call if you want to, Job, ·but no one [L is there anyone who…?] will answer you.
·You can’t [L Can you…?] turn to any of the holy ones [C angels].
2 ·Anger [Irritation] kills the fool,
and jealousy slays the ·stupid [or naïve; simpleminded; C these emotions can lead to death; Prov. 14:30; 27:4].
3 I have seen a fool ·succeed [L taking root],
but I cursed his ·home [household; pasturage] ·immediately [suddenly].
4 His children are far from safety
and are crushed in court with no ·defense [or rescuer].
5 The hungry eat his harvest,
even taking what grew among the thorns,
and thirsty people ·want [L pant after] his wealth.
6 ·Hard times do [Misery does] not come up from the ·ground [dust],
and trouble does not ·grow [sprout] from the earth [C they come from anger and jealousy].
7 People ·produce [L are born for] trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 “But if I were you, I would ·call on [L seek] God
and ·bring my problem [L commit my thoughts/cause] before him [C argues that Job needs to repent].
9 God does wonders that cannot be understood;
he does so many ·miracles [marvelous acts] they cannot be counted.
10 He gives rain to the earth
and sends water on the fields.
11 He makes the ·humble [lowly] person important [Ps. 113]
and lifts ·the sad [mourners] to places of safety.
12 He ruins the ·plans [pretensions; strategies] of those who ·trick others [are crafty]
so ·they [L their hands] have no success.
13 He catches the ·wise [crafty; clever] in their own ·clever traps [craftiness]
and ·sweeps away [ends; finishes off] the ·plans [advice; schemes] of those who ·try to trick others [are wily].
14 Darkness ·covers them up [or encounters them] in the daytime;
even at noon they ·feel [grope] around in the dark.
15 God saves the needy from their lies
and from the harm done by powerful people.
16 So the poor have hope,
while those who are ·unfair [unjust] ·are silenced [L shut their mouth].
17 “The one whom God ·corrects [reproves] is ·happy [blessed],
so do not ·hate being corrected by [L reject/despise the instruction of] the Almighty [Prov. 3:11–12].
18 God ·hurts [wounds], but he also bandages up;
he ·injures [strikes], but his hands also heal.
19 He will ·save [rescue] you from six ·troubles [dangers];
even seven ·troubles [or evils] will not ·harm [L touch] you [C “six…seven” is a poetic way of saying “all troubles”].
20 God will ·buy you back [redeem/ransom you] from death in times of ·hunger [famine],
and in ·battle [war] he will save you from the sword.
21 You will be ·protected [hidden] from the ·tongue that strikes like a whip [lash of the tongue],
and you will not be afraid when destruction comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger [Ps. 112:7],
and you will not fear the wild animals,
23 because you will have an ·agreement [treaty; alliance; covenant] with the stones in the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you [C describes a peaceful relationship with all nature].
24 You will know that your tent is safe,
because you will ·check [visit] ·the things you own [your pasturage/home] and find nothing missing.
25 You will know that you will have many ·children [descendants],
and your ·descendants [offspring] will be like the grass on the earth.
26 You will come to the grave ·with all your strength [or at a ripe old age],
like bundles of grain gathered at the right time.
27 “We have ·checked [examined] this, and it is true,
so hear it and ·decide what it means to you [know it yourself].”