The big picture
Job 5 opens in verse 1 with “Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 14 with “They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.”, and closes in verse 27 with “Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.” Repeated or prominent terms include cometh, earth, know, afraid, beasts. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Job · King James Version · 27Job 5:1-7
1–7: Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the…
Job 5:1–7 opens with “Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?” and reaches “Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Job 5 develops its own movement around cometh, earth, know, afraid, beasts, with particular weight carried by foolish, trouble, affliction.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
Job 5:1-7
King James Version1Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
2For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
3I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
5Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
6Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
Job 5:8-14
8–14: I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
Job 5:8–14 opens with “I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:” and reaches “They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Job 5 develops its own movement around cometh, earth, know, afraid, beasts, with particular weight carried by carried, cause, commit.
Context that brings the passage to life
“I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:” The verse names God rather than leaving the action without a source. Watch whether the next line continues, answers, or contrasts that action.
Job 5:8-14
King James Version8I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
9Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
10Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
11To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
12He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
13He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
14They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
Job 5:15-21
15–21: He saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand…
Job 5:15–21 opens with “But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.” and reaches “Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Job 5 develops its own movement around cometh, earth, know, afraid, beasts, with particular weight carried by mouth, poor, sword.
Context that brings the passage to life
“But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.” The line’s distinctive content terms include hand, mighty, mouth. Its relationship to verses 16 shows what work it does in this passage.
Job 5:15-21
King James Version15But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
16So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
17Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
20In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
21Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
Job 5:22-27
22–27: At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid…
Job 5:22–27 opens with “At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the…” and reaches “Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Job 5 develops its own movement around cometh, earth, know, afraid, beasts, with particular weight carried by know, beasts, earth.
Context that brings the passage to life
“At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.” The line’s distinctive content terms include afraid, beasts, destruction. Its relationship to verses 23 shows what work it does in this passage.
Job 5:22-27
King James Version22At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
25Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
26Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
27Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Job 5:1 begins with “Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?”
Where the chapter turns
Job 5:15 forms a natural hinge: “But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.”
The final note
Job 5:27 leaves the reader with “Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words cometh, earth, know, afraid, beasts, deliver help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What does the repeated ending make readers feel?
Death becomes the chapter's persistent refrain, even as generation follows generation.
What two interruptions offer hope?
Enoch's walk with God and Lamech's hope attached to Noah.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.