Table of Contents
Job 5
Job 5
1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy 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 robber swalloweth up their substance.
6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
9 Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
12 He disappointeth 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 froward is carried headlong.
14 They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
15 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and 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 shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
20 In famine he shall 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 famine 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 tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
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 corn cometh in in his season.
27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
Notes
Cross Reference
Concordance
Commentary
Rashi
Verse 1
<html><b>Now call</b> Up to here are words of prophecy. From here on, he returns to his rebuke: Cry out to your utmost, who will answer you? <b>To which of the holy ones [i.e., of the angels]</b> who decrees this upon you will you turn, to strive with him?</html>
Verse 2
<html><b>a fool</b> like you, anger will kill him, for had you remained silent, perhaps the Divine standard of clemency would return upon you. <b>wrath</b> That is anger and fury, as in (Deut. 32:21), “They have provoked Me (קנאוני) to wrath.”</html>
Verse 4
<html><b>May his sons distance themselves from salvation</b> This is the curse with which I cursed him. <b>and may they be crushed</b> It is punctuated with a dagesh: וְיִדַּכְּאוּ, and may they be crushed, but if it was punctuated without a dagesh (וִידַכְּאוּ), it would mean that they should crush others.</html>
Verse 5
<html><b>his harvest</b> of the wicked man. <b>The hungry shall eat</b> When the wicked man dies, the hungry whom he cut off during his lifetime shall come and take payment from his property. <b>and he will take it for the one saved from his weapons</b> Like (Exod. 27:20), “and they shall take to you”; for the benefit of the poor man who was saved from the weapons of this wicked man, the judge who is appointed for that purpose shall take it [the estate of the wicked man]. <b>shall swallow</b> One of the thirsty ones whom he robbed during his lifetime shall swallow. <b>their riches</b> Their money that this one stole during his lifetime.</html>
Verse 6
<html><b>For not from the dust does ruin emerge</b> A plague that comes upon a person is not for nothing, nor does it spring from the ground. <b>ruin</b> Heb. און. It is an expression of ruin.</html>
Verse 7
<html><b>Because man is born for trouble</b> For it is impossible that he should not sin and receive trouble as punishment for sin. He is not like the flying creatures—the angels and spirits—who fly upward, and are not of the earthly creatures (other editions read: fly upward so as not to be among the earthly creatures), over whom the Adversary and temptation rule. <b>flying</b> Heb. רשף, as in (Ps. 76:4), “arrows of (רשפי) a bow.” When the arrow flies, it is called רשפי, an expression of flying. This is what I heard.</html>
Verse 8
<html><b>But I would seek of God</b> If these pains came over me, I would appeal to the Holy One, blessed be He, with prayer and supplication, and if I would commit my cause to a request.</html>
Verse 10
<html><b>Who gives rain upon the face of the land</b> The land of Israel. <b>and sends water upon the face of outside places</b> through a messenger to other countries.</html>
Verse 11
<html><b>to place the humble on high</b> He gives the rain, and He frustrates the plans of the crafty, who intend to raise the prices and buy the fields of the poor for little grain. <b>and those blackened</b> whose fares are shriveled from hunger.</html>
Verse 12
<html><b>so that their hands do not carry out their plans</b> The counsel that they planned to perform.</html>
Verse 13
<html><b>is hasty</b> Any counsel that is planned hastily is foolishness.</html>
Verse 14
<html><b>By day, they meet darkness</b> For their counsel is not executed nor accomplished, and the light of their wisdom is converted to darkness.</html>
Verse 15
<html><b>And He saved</b> the stumblers. <b> from the sword.</b> From what sword? From their mouth, for they thought to swallow them and longed to destroy them. <b>and… from the hand of the mighty</b> He saves the needy.</html>
Verse 16
<html><b>and libel</b> Heb. ועלתה. The libel (עלילה) and the wickedness, as (Ps. 64:7), “They search for false charges,” equivalent to עלילות, libels. <b>shut</b> Heb. קפצה, shut, as (Deut. 15:7), “nor shut (תקפץ).”</html>
Verse 17
<html><b>Behold, fortunate is the man etc.</b> with pains, and just as He heals the pain of these [people], so would I [myself] appeal to Him about these pains that would come upon me. So should you accept them and not despise them.</html>
Verse 19
<html><b>In six troubles</b> When they come to the world, he will save you through the pains with which you wee tormented, and also with the seventh one, which when it comes will not touch you.</html>
Verse 21
<html><b>from the scourging tongue</b> of the Adversary you shall be hidden. These are the seven troubles: 1 famine, 2) the sword, 3) the tongue, 4) plunder etc., and 5) the beasts of the land, which are brigands.</html>
Verse 23
<html><b>the stones of the field</b> They are: 6) a type of man. <b>and the beasts of the field</b> That is what is known as grouse(?) in Old French, and this is actually a beast of the field. In the language of the Mishnah in Torath Kohanim, they are called “adnei hasadeh.” <b>made peace with you</b> will have peace with you.</html>
Verse 24
<html><b>Then you shall know that there is peace in your tent</b> Then, wherever you are, you will be confident that all is well in your tent. <b>and you shall visit your habitation and miss nothing</b> Heb. תחטא, like (Jud. 20:16), “at a hairbreadth and not miss (יחטא).” This is the seventh [trouble] that we counted above.</html>
Verse 26
<html><b>You shall come to the grave at a ripe old age</b> Heb. בְכֶלַח. [In other words,] you will be saved from pestilence. As for the word בְכֶלַח: there is no Biblical support to understand its meaning, but according to the context, it can be interpreted as an expression of the completion of the ripening of the grain, when it is completely ripe. Our Rabbis, however, interpret בְכֶלַח as “sixty years,” according to its numerical value. <b>as the grain stock is taken away</b> As the grain stack is taken off the ground in its time.</html>