Eliphaz

Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:

“If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    But who can keep from speaking?(B)
Think how you have instructed many,(C)
    how you have strengthened feeble hands.(D)
Your words have supported those who stumbled;(E)
    you have strengthened faltering knees.(F)
But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;(G)
    it strikes(H) you, and you are dismayed.(I)
Should not your piety be your confidence(J)
    and your blameless(K) ways your hope?

“Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?(L)
    Where were the upright ever destroyed?(M)
As I have observed,(N) those who plow evil(O)
    and those who sow trouble reap it.(P)
At the breath of God(Q) they perish;
    at the blast of his anger they are no more.(R)
10 The lions may roar(S) and growl,
    yet the teeth of the great lions(T) are broken.(U)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,(V)
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.(W)

12 “A word(X) was secretly brought to me,
    my ears caught a whisper(Y) of it.(Z)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
    when deep sleep falls on people,(AA)
14 fear and trembling(AB) seized me
    and made all my bones shake.(AC)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
    and the hair on my body stood on end.(AD)
16 It stopped,
    but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
    and I heard a hushed voice:(AE)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?(AF)
    Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?(AG)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,(AH)
    if he charges his angels with error,(AI)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,(AJ)
    whose foundations(AK) are in the dust,(AL)
    who are crushed(AM) more readily than a moth!(AN)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
    unnoticed, they perish forever.(AO)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,(AP)
    so that they die(AQ) without wisdom?’(AR)

“Call if you will, but who will answer you?(AS)
    To which of the holy ones(AT) will you turn?
Resentment(AU) kills a fool,
    and envy slays the simple.(AV)
I myself have seen(AW) a fool taking root,(AX)
    but suddenly(AY) his house was cursed.(AZ)
His children(BA) are far from safety,(BB)
    crushed in court(BC) without a defender.(BD)
The hungry consume his harvest,(BE)
    taking it even from among thorns,
    and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
For hardship does not spring from the soil,
    nor does trouble sprout from the ground.(BF)
Yet man is born to trouble(BG)
    as surely as sparks fly upward.

“But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
    I would lay my cause before him.(BH)
He performs wonders(BI) that cannot be fathomed,(BJ)
    miracles that cannot be counted.(BK)
10 He provides rain for the earth;(BL)
    he sends water on the countryside.(BM)
11 The lowly he sets on high,(BN)
    and those who mourn(BO) are lifted(BP) to safety.
12 He thwarts the plans(BQ) of the crafty,
    so that their hands achieve no success.(BR)
13 He catches the wise(BS) in their craftiness,(BT)
    and the schemes of the wily are swept away.(BU)
14 Darkness(BV) comes upon them in the daytime;
    at noon they grope as in the night.(BW)
15 He saves the needy(BX) from the sword in their mouth;
    he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.(BY)
16 So the poor(BZ) have hope,
    and injustice shuts its mouth.(CA)

17 “Blessed is the one whom God corrects;(CB)
    so do not despise the discipline(CC) of the Almighty.[a](CD)
18 For he wounds, but he also binds up;(CE)
    he injures, but his hands also heal.(CF)
19 From six calamities he will rescue(CG) you;
    in seven no harm will touch you.(CH)
20 In famine(CI) he will deliver you from death,
    and in battle from the stroke of the sword.(CJ)
21 You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,(CK)
    and need not fear(CL) when destruction comes.(CM)
22 You will laugh(CN) at destruction and famine,(CO)
    and need not fear the wild animals.(CP)
23 For you will have a covenant(CQ) with the stones(CR) of the field,
    and the wild animals will be at peace with you.(CS)
24 You will know that your tent is secure;(CT)
    you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.(CU)
25 You will know that your children will be many,(CV)
    and your descendants like the grass of the earth.(CW)
26 You will come to the grave in full vigor,(CX)
    like sheaves gathered in season.(CY)

27 “We have examined this, and it is true.
    So hear it(CZ) and apply it to yourself.”(DA)

Footnotes

  1. Job 5:17 Hebrew Shaddai; here and throughout Job

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?

Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.

12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.

13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,

14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:

16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

20 They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?

For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.

His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.

Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.

Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:

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.