Job 4:1–14:22

Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,

2If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved?

But who can withhold himself from speaking?

3Behold, thou hast instructed many,

And thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

4Thy words have upholden him that was falling,

And thou hast made firm the feeble knees.

5But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest;

It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

6Is not thy fear of God thy confidence,

And the integrity of thy ways thy hope?

7Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?

Or where were the upright cut off?

8According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity,

And sow trouble, reap the same.

9By the breath of God they perish,

And by the blast of his anger are they consumed.

10The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

11The old lion perisheth for lack of prey,

And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.

12Now a thing was secretly brought to me,

And mine ear received a whisper thereof.

13In thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falleth on men,

14Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones to shake.

15Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair of my flesh stood up.

16It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof;

A form was before mine eyes:

There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

17Shall mortal man be more just than God?

Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?

18Behold, he putteth no trust in his servants;

And his angels he chargeth with folly:

19How much more them that dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before the moth!

20Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed:

They perish for ever without any regarding it.

21Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them?

They die, and that without wisdom.

5 Call now; is there any that will answer thee?

And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?

2For vexation killeth the foolish man,

And jealousy 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 snare gapeth for their substance.

6For affliction cometh not forth from the dust,

Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;

7But man is born unto trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.

8But as for me, I would seek unto God,

And unto God would I commit my cause;

9Who doeth great things and unsearchable,

Marvellous things without number:

10Who giveth rain upon the earth,

And sendeth waters upon the fields;

11So that he setteth up on high those that are low,

And those that mourn are exalted to safety.

12He frustrateth 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 cunning is carried headlong.

14They meet with darkness in the day-time,

And grope at noonday as in the night.

15But he saveth from the sword of their mouth,

Even the needy 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 will deliver thee in six troubles;

Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

20In famine he will 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.

22At destruction and dearth 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 tent is in peace;

And thou shalt visit thy fold, and shalt miss nothing.

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 grain cometh in in its season.

27Lo this, we have searched it, so it is;

Hear it, and know thou it for thy good.

6 Then Job answered and said,

2Oh that my vexation were but weighed,

And all my calamity laid in the balances!

3For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas:

Therefore have my words been rash.

4For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,

The poison whereof my spirit drinketh up:

The terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.

5Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass?

Or loweth the ox over his fodder?

6Can that which hath no savor be eaten without salt?

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

7My soul refuseth to touch them;

They are as loathsome food to me.

8Oh that I might have my request;

And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

9Even that it would please God to crush me;

That he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

10And be it still my consolation,

Yea, let me exult in pain that spareth not,

That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is mine end, that I should be patient?

12Is my strength the strength of stones?

Or is my flesh of brass?

13Is it not that I have no help in me,

And that wisdom is driven quite from me?

14To him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend;

Even to him that forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.

15My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,

As the channel of brooks that pass away;

16Which are black by reason of the ice,

And wherein the snow hideth itself:

17What time they wax warm, they vanish;

When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

18The caravans that travel by the way of them turn aside;

They go up into the waste, and perish.

19The caravans of Tema looked,

The companies of Sheba waited for them.

20They were put to shame because they had hoped;

They came thither, and were confounded.

21For now ye are nothing;

Ye see a terror, and are afraid.

22Did I say, Give unto me?

Or, Offer a present for me of your substance?

23Or, Deliver me from the adversary’s hand?

Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?

24Teach me, and I will hold my peace;

And cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

25How forcible are words of uprightness!

But your reproof, what doth it reprove?

26Do ye think to reprove words,

Seeing that the speeches of one that is desperate are as wind?

27Yea, ye would cast lots upon the fatherless,

And make merchandise of your friend.

28Now therefore be pleased to look upon me;

For surely I shall not lie to your face.

29Return, I pray you, let there be no injustice;

Yea, return again, my cause is righteous.

30Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my taste discern mischievous things?

7 Is there not a warfare to man upon earth?

And are not his days like the days of a hireling?

2As a servant that earnestly desireth the shadow,

And as a hireling that looketh for his wages:

3So am I made to possess months of misery,

And wearisome nights are appointed to me.

4When I lie down, I say,

When shall I arise, and the night be gone?

And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.

5My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust;

My skin closeth up, and breaketh out afresh.

6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And are spent without hope.

7Oh remember that my life is a breath:

Mine eye shall no more see good.

8The eye of him that seeth me shall behold me no more;

Thine eyes shall be upon me, but I shall not be.

9As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away,

So he that goeth down to Sheol shall come up no more.

10He shall return no more to his house,

Neither shall his place know him any more.

11Therefore I will not refrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12Am I a sea, or a sea-monster,

That thou settest a watch over me?

13When I say, My bed shall comfort me,

My couch shall ease my complaint;

14Then thou scarest me with dreams,

And terrifiest me through visions:

15So that my soul chooseth strangling,

And death rather than these my bones.

16I loathe my life; I would not live alway:

Let me alone; for my days are vanity.

17What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him,

And that thou shouldest set thy mind upon him,

18And that thou shouldest visit him every morning,

And try him every moment?

19How long wilt thou not look away from me,

Nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?

20If I have sinned, what do I unto thee, O thou watcher of men?

Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee,

So that I am a burden to myself?

21And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity?

For now shall I lie down in the dust;

And thou wilt seek me diligently, but I shall not be.

8 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

2How long wilt thou speak these things?

And how long shall the words of thy mouth be like a mighty wind?

3Doth God pervert justice?

Or doth the Almighty pervert righteousness?

4If thy children have sinned against him,

And he hath delivered them into the hand of their transgression;

5If thou wouldest seek diligently unto God,

And make thy supplication to the Almighty;

6If thou wert pure and upright:

Surely now he would awake for thee,

And make the habitation of thy righteousness prosperous.

7And though thy beginning was small,

Yet thy latter end would greatly increase.

8For inquire, I pray thee, of the former age,

And apply thyself to that which their fathers have searched out

9(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing,

Because our days upon earth are a shadow);

10Shall not they teach thee, and tell thee,

And utter words out of their heart?

11Can the rush grow up without mire?

Can the flag grow without water?

12Whilst it is yet in its greenness, and not cut down,

It withereth before any other herb.

13So are the paths of…