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)

Job

Then Job replied:

“If only my anguish could be weighed
    and all my misery be placed on the scales!(DB)
It would surely outweigh the sand(DC) of the seas—
    no wonder my words have been impetuous.(DD)
The arrows(DE) of the Almighty(DF) are in me,(DG)
    my spirit drinks(DH) in their poison;(DI)
    God’s terrors(DJ) are marshaled against me.(DK)
Does a wild donkey(DL) bray(DM) when it has grass,
    or an ox bellow when it has fodder?(DN)
Is tasteless food eaten without salt,
    or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow[b]?(DO)
I refuse to touch it;
    such food makes me ill.(DP)

“Oh, that I might have my request,
    that God would grant what I hope for,(DQ)
that God would be willing to crush(DR) me,
    to let loose his hand and cut off my life!(DS)
10 Then I would still have this consolation(DT)
    my joy in unrelenting pain(DU)
    that I had not denied the words(DV) of the Holy One.(DW)

11 “What strength do I have, that I should still hope?
    What prospects, that I should be patient?(DX)
12 Do I have the strength of stone?
    Is my flesh bronze?(DY)
13 Do I have any power to help myself,(DZ)
    now that success has been driven from me?

14 “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend(EA)
    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.(EB)
15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,(EC)
    as the streams that overflow
16 when darkened by thawing ice
    and swollen with melting snow,(ED)
17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,
    and in the heat(EE) vanish from their channels.
18 Caravans turn aside from their routes;
    they go off into the wasteland and perish.
19 The caravans of Tema(EF) look for water,
    the traveling merchants of Sheba(EG) look in hope.
20 They are distressed, because they had been confident;
    they arrive there, only to be disappointed.(EH)
21 Now you too have proved to be of no help;
    you see something dreadful and are afraid.(EI)
22 Have I ever said, ‘Give something on my behalf,
    pay a ransom(EJ) for me from your wealth,(EK)
23 deliver me from the hand of the enemy,
    rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless’?(EL)

24 “Teach me, and I will be quiet;(EM)
    show me where I have been wrong.(EN)
25 How painful are honest words!(EO)
    But what do your arguments prove?
26 Do you mean to correct what I say,
    and treat my desperate words as wind?(EP)
27 You would even cast lots(EQ) for the fatherless(ER)
    and barter away your friend.

28 “But now be so kind as to look at me.
    Would I lie to your face?(ES)
29 Relent, do not be unjust;(ET)
    reconsider, for my integrity(EU) is at stake.[c](EV)
30 Is there any wickedness on my lips?(EW)
    Can my mouth not discern(EX) malice?

“Do not mortals have hard service(EY) on earth?(EZ)
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?(FA)
Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,(FB)
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,(FC)
so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.(FD)
When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’(FE)
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.(FF)
My body is clothed with worms(FG) and scabs,
    my skin is broken and festering.(FH)

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,(FI)
    and they come to an end without hope.(FJ)
Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;(FK)
    my eyes will never see happiness again.(FL)
The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.(FM)
As a cloud vanishes(FN) and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave(FO) does not return.(FP)
10 He will never come to his house again;
    his place(FQ) will know him no more.(FR)

11 “Therefore I will not keep silent;(FS)
    I will speak out in the anguish(FT) of my spirit,
    I will complain(FU) in the bitterness of my soul.(FV)
12 Am I the sea,(FW) or the monster of the deep,(FX)
    that you put me under guard?(FY)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
    and my couch will ease my complaint,(FZ)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify(GA) me with visions,(GB)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,(GC)
    rather than this body of mine.(GD)
16 I despise my life;(GE) I would not live forever.(GF)
    Let me alone;(GG) my days have no meaning.(GH)

17 “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
    that you give them so much attention,(GI)
18 that you examine them every morning(GJ)
    and test them(GK) every moment?(GL)
19 Will you never look away from me,(GM)
    or let me alone even for an instant?(GN)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,(GO)
    you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?(GP)
    Have I become a burden to you?[d](GQ)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
    and forgive my sins?(GR)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;(GS)
    you will search for me, but I will be no more.”(GT)

Footnotes

  1. Job 5:17 Hebrew Shaddai; here and throughout Job
  2. Job 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  3. Job 6:29 Or my righteousness still stands
  4. Job 7:20 A few manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition and Septuagint; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text I have become a burden to myself.

18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.(A)

20 Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children.(B) In regard to evil be infants,(C) but in your thinking be adults. 21 In the Law(D) it is written:

“With other tongues
    and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
    but even then they will not listen to me,(E)
says the Lord.”[a]

22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy,(F) however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?(G) 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets(H) of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”(I)

Good Order in Worship

26 What then shall we say, brothers and sisters?(J) When you come together, each of you(K) has a hymn,(L) or a word of instruction,(M) a revelation, a tongue(N) or an interpretation.(O) Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.(P) 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28 If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and to God.

29 Two or three prophets(Q) should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said.(R) 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31 For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32 The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets.(S) 33 For God is not a God of disorder(T) but of peace(U)—as in all the congregations(V) of the Lord’s people.(W)

34 Women[b] should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak,(X) but must be in submission,(Y) as the law(Z) says. 35 If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.[c]

36 Or did the word of God(AA) originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks they are a prophet(AB) or otherwise gifted by the Spirit,(AC) let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.(AD) 38 But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored.[d]

39 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager(AE) to prophesy,(AF) and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly(AG) way.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 14:21 Isaiah 28:11,12
  2. 1 Corinthians 14:34 Or peace. As in all the congregations of the Lord’s people, 34 women
  3. 1 Corinthians 14:35 In a few manuscripts these verses come after verse 40.
  4. 1 Corinthians 14:38 Some manuscripts But anyone who is ignorant of this will be ignorant

30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,(A)
    and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;(B)
    their feet do not slip.(C)

32 The wicked lie in wait(D) for the righteous,(E)
    intent on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
    or let them be condemned(F) when brought to trial.(G)

34 Hope in the Lord(H)
    and keep his way.(I)
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed,(J) you will see(K) it.

35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing(L) like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.(M)

37 Consider the blameless,(N) observe the upright;(O)
    a future awaits those who seek peace.[a](P)
38 But all sinners(Q) will be destroyed;(R)
    there will be no future[b] for the wicked.(S)

39 The salvation(T) of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.(U)
40 The Lord helps(V) them and delivers(W) them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves(X) them,
    because they take refuge(Y) in him.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 37:37 Or upright; / those who seek peace will have posterity
  2. Psalm 37:38 Or posterity

27 The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable(A)
    how much more so when brought with evil intent!(B)

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