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Eliphaz’s First Response to Job

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied to Job:

“Will you be patient and let me say a word?
    For who could keep from speaking out?

“In the past you have encouraged many people;
    you have strengthened those who were weak.
Your words have supported those who were falling;
    you encouraged those with shaky knees.
But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart.
    You are terrified when it touches you.
Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence?
    Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?

“Stop and think! Do the innocent die?
    When have the upright been destroyed?
My experience shows that those who plant trouble
    and cultivate evil will harvest the same.
A breath from God destroys them.
    They vanish in a blast of his anger.
10 The lion roars and the wildcat snarls,
    but the teeth of strong lions will be broken.
11 The fierce lion will starve for lack of prey,
    and the cubs of the lioness will be scattered.

12 “This truth was given to me in secret,
    as though whispered in my ear.
13 It came to me in a disturbing vision at night,
    when people are in a deep sleep.
14 Fear gripped me,
    and my bones trembled.
15 A spirit[a] swept past my face,
    and my hair stood on end.[b]
16 The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape.
    There was a form before my eyes.
In the silence I heard a voice say,
17 ‘Can a mortal be innocent before God?
    Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’

18 “If God does not trust his own angels
    and has charged his messengers with foolishness,
19 how much less will he trust people made of clay!
    They are made of dust, crushed as easily as a moth.
20 They are alive in the morning but dead by evening,
    gone forever without a trace.
21 Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses,
    and they die in ignorance.

Eliphaz’s Response Continues

“Cry for help, but will anyone answer you?
    Which of the angels[c] will help you?
Surely resentment destroys the fool,
    and jealousy kills the simple.
I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment,
    but then comes sudden disaster.
Their children are abandoned far from help;
    they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.
The hungry devour their harvest,
    even when it is guarded by brambles.[d]
    The thirsty pant after their wealth.[e]
But evil does not spring from the soil,
    and trouble does not sprout from the earth.
People are born for trouble
    as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.

“If I were you, I would go to God
    and present my case to him.
He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles.
10 He gives rain for the earth
    and water for the fields.
11 He gives prosperity to the poor
    and protects those who suffer.
12 He frustrates the plans of schemers
    so the work of their hands will not succeed.
13 He traps the wise in their own cleverness
    so their cunning schemes are thwarted.
14 They find it is dark in the daytime,
    and they grope at noon as if it were night.
15 He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong,
    and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.
16 And so at last the poor have hope,
    and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

17 “But consider the joy of those corrected by God!
    Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.
18 For though he wounds, he also bandages.
    He strikes, but his hands also heal.
19 From six disasters he will rescue you;
    even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.
20 He will save you from death in time of famine,
    from the power of the sword in time of war.
21 You will be safe from slander
    and have no fear when destruction comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine;
    wild animals will not terrify you.
23 You will be at peace with the stones of the field,
    and its wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your home is safe.
    When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.
25 You will have many children;
    your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!
26 You will go to the grave at a ripe old age,
    like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!

27 “We have studied life and found all this to be true.
    Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.”

Footnotes

  1. 4:15a Or wind; also in 4:16.
  2. 4:15b Or its wind sent shivers up my spine.
  3. 5:1 Hebrew the holy ones.
  4. 5:5a The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  5. 5:5b As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads A snare snatches their wealth.

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