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“Call if you like, but will anyone answer?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
For anger kills the fool,
and envy slays the silly.
I watch as a fool establishes roots,
but I curse his home with sudden [destruction] —
his children are far from help,
publicly humiliated, with no one to rescue;
the hungry eat up his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
while the thirsty are panting,
eager to swallow his wealth.
For misery does not come from the dust
or trouble spring from the ground.
No, people are born for trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.

“If I were you, I would seek God;
I would make my plea to him.
For God does great deeds beyond investigation,
wonders beyond all reckoning.
10 He gives rain to the earth,
pours water down on the fields.
11 He raises the lowly on high
and lifts mourners to safety.
12 He frustrates the schemes of the cunning,
so that they achieve no success;
13 trapping the crafty in their own tricks
and foiling quickly the plans of the false.
14 They meet with darkness during the day,
groping at noon like at night.
15 But he saves the poor from the sword, their mouth,
and from the clutches of the strong;
16 so the poor can hope again;
and injustice shuts its mouth.

17 “How happy the person whom God corrects!
So don’t despise Shaddai’s discipline.
18 For he wounds, but he bandages the sore;
his hands may strike, but they also heal.
19 He will rescue you from six disasters;
yes, in seven no harm will touch you.
20 In famine, he will save you from death,
and in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be shielded from the lash of the tongue,
and you won’t have to fear destruction when it comes —
22 you’ll be able to laugh at destruction and famine.
Also you won’t have to fear wild animals,
23 for you will be in league with the stones in the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your tent is safe;
you will look round your home and miss nothing.
25 You will know that your descendants are many,
your offspring like grass [growing thick] in the fields.
26 You will come to your grave at a ripe old age,
like a pile of grain that arrives in season.

27 “We’ve looked into this, and that’s how it is;
listen, and know that it’s for your own good.”

Eliphaz continues to speak to Job

‘Shout for help, Job! But no one will answer you.
    None of the angels will come to help you.
Foolish people may be angry and jealous.
    That is what kills them.
I have seen fools who seemed to be successful.
    But suddenly a curse destroyed their homes.
Their children are never truly safe.
The judge says that they are guilty,
    and nobody saves them from punishment.
Hungry people take their crops to eat.
    They even take them from among the weeds.
Thirsty people take the fool's money for themselves.
Problems do not grow like plants in our fields.
    Trouble does not come up from the ground.
But trouble comes to everyone, as soon as they are born.
    It is as certain as smoke that rises from a fire.

I suggest that you ask God to help you.
    You should tell him about your problems.
He does great things that nobody can understand.
    He does more miracles than anyone can count.
10 He gives rain for the earth.
    He sends water for the fields.
11 He gives honour to humble people.
    When people are suffering, he puts them in a safe place.
12 He stops the ideas of clever people.
    They cannot do what they want to do.
13 When wise people try to do clever things,
    he causes those things to give them trouble.
    He quickly stops their clever ideas.
14 In the middle of the day, it becomes dark for those people.
    At midday, they see no better than blind people.
15 He saves poor people when wicked people attack them.
    He rescues weak people from the power of strong people.
16 So poor people can hope for justice.
    Wicked people have to be quiet.
17 If Almighty God warns you to do what is right,
    he has blessed you.
So do not be upset when he decides to do that.
18 He may cause you to have pain,
    but he will make you well again.
He may hurt you,
    but he will also give you health.
19 If trouble comes to you six times, he will rescue you.
    No bad thing will hurt you, as often as it happens.
20 If there is a time of famine,
    he will keep you alive.
He will protect you from death in a time of war.
21 If people insult you, he will take care of you.
    When people attack you, you will not be afraid.
22 In times of danger and famine, you will be brave.
    You will not be afraid of wild animals.
23 The stones in your fields will not give you trouble.
    The wild animals will not attack you.
24 You will know that your home is strong and safe.
When you check all your land,
    you will see that all your animals are safe.
25 You will know that your children will be very many.
    You will have as many descendants as the grass that grows in the ground.
26 You will not die until you are old.
You will grow with strength until you die,
    like crops that grow until the time of harvest.
27 We have thought carefully about these things.
    We know that they are true.
So listen to what we say.
    Accept it and it will be good for you.’

Call now if there be any that will answer thee, and turn to some of the saints.

Anger indeed killeth the foolish, and envy slayeth the little one.

I have seen a fool with a strong root, and I cursed his beauty immediately.

His children shall be far from safety, and shall be destroyed in the gate, and there shall be none to deliver them.

Whose harvest the hungry shall eat, and the armed man shall take him by violence, and the thirsty shall drink up his riches.

Nothing upon earth is done without a voice cause, and sorrow doth not spring out of the ground.

Man is born to labour and the bird to fly.

Wherefore I will pray to the Lord, and address my speech to God:

Who doth great things and unsearchable and wonderful things without number:

10 Who giveth rain upon the face of the earth, and watereth all things with waters:

11 Who setteth up the humble on high, and comforteth with health those that mourn.

12 Who bringeth to nought the designs of the malignant, so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had begun:

13 Who catcheth the wise in their craftiness, and disappointeth the counsel of the wicked:

14 They shall meet with darkness in the day, and grope at noonday as in the night.

15 But he shall save the needy from the sword of their mouth, and the poor from the hand of the violent.

16 And to the needy there shall he hope, but iniquity shall draw in her mouth.

17 Blessed is the man whom God correcteth: refuse not therefore the chastising of the lord:

18 For he woundeth, and cureth: he striketh, and his hands shall heal.

19 In six troubles he shall deliver thee, and in the seventh, evil shall not touch thee.

20 In famine he shall deliver thee from death: and in battle, from the hand of the sword.

21 Thou shalt he hidden from the scourge of the tongue: and thou shalt not fear calamity when it cometh.

22 In destruction and famine then shalt laugh: and thou shalt not be afraid of the beasts of the earth.

23 But thou shalt have a covenant with the stones of the lands, and the beasts of the earth shall be at pence with thee.

24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle is in peace, and visiting thy beauty thou shalt not sin.

25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be multiplied, and thy offspring like the grass of the earth.

26 Thou shalt enter into the grave in abundance, as a heap of wheat is brought in its season.

27 Behold, this is even so, as we have searched out: which thou having heard, consider it thoroughly in thy mind.