Job 4–6

Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper

4Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?

Yet who can keep from speaking?

³Behold, you have instructed many,

and you have ^astrengthened the weak hands.

⁴Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

and you have ^amade firm the feeble knees.

⁵But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;

it touches you, and you are dismayed.

^6bIs not your fear of God¹ your ^cconfidence,

and the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Remember: ^dwho that was innocent ever perished?

Or where were the upright cut off?

⁸As I have seen, those who ^eplow iniquity

and sow trouble reap the same.

⁹By ^fthe breath of God they perish,

and by ^gthe blast of his anger they are consumed.

¹⁰The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,

^hthe teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹²“Now a word was brought to me stealthily;

my ear received ⁱthe whisper of it.

¹³Amid ^jthoughts from ^kvisions of the night,

when ^kdeep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴dread came upon me, and trembling,

which made all my bones shake.

¹⁵A spirit glided past my face;

the hair of my flesh stood up.

¹⁶It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance.

^lA form was before my eyes;

there was silence, then I heard ^ma voice:

¹⁷ⁿ‘Can mortal man be in the right before² God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

¹⁸Even in his servants ^ohe puts no trust,

and his angels he charges with error;

¹⁹how much more those who dwell in houses of ^pclay,

whose foundation is in ^qthe dust,

who are crushed like^{3 r}the moth.

²⁰Between ^smorning and evening they are beaten to pieces;

they perish forever ^twithout anyone regarding it.

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

^udo they not die, and that without wisdom?’

5“Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?

To which of ^vthe holy ones will you turn?

²Surely vexation kills the fool,

and jealousy slays the simple.

^3wI have seen the fool taking root,

but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.

⁴His children are ^xfar from safety;

they are crushed in ^ythe gate,

and there is no one to deliver them.

⁵The hungry eat his harvest,

and he takes it even out of thorns,¹

and the thirsty pant² after his³ wealth.

⁶For affliction does not come from the dust,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

⁷but man is ^zborn to trouble

as the sparks fly upward.

⁸“As for me, I would seek God,

and to God would I commit my cause,

⁹who ^adoes great things and ^bunsearchable,

^cmarvelous things without number:

¹⁰he gives ^drain on the earth

and sends waters on the fields;

¹¹he ^esets on high those who are lowly,

and those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²He ^ffrustrates the devices of the crafty,

so that their hands achieve no success.

¹³He ^gcatches the wise in their own craftiness,

and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.

¹⁴They meet with darkness in the daytime

and ^hgrope at noonday as in the night.

¹⁵But he ⁱsaves the needy from the sword of their mouth

and from the hand of the mighty.

¹⁶So the poor have hope,

and ^jinjustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷“Behold, ^kblessed is the one whom God reproves;

therefore ^ldespise not the discipline of the ^mAlmighty.

¹⁸For he wounds, but he ⁿbinds up;

he ^oshatters, but his hands heal.

¹⁹He will ^pdeliver you from six troubles;

in seven no ^qevil⁴ shall touch you.

^20rIn famine he will redeem you from death,

and in war from the power of the sword.

²¹You shall be ^shidden from the lash of the tongue,

and shall not fear destruction when it comes.

²²At destruction and famine you shall laugh,

and shall not fear ^tthe beasts of the earth.

²³For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,

and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.

²⁴You shall know that your ^utent is at peace,

and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.

²⁵You shall know also that your ^voffspring shall be many,

and your descendants as ^wthe grass of the earth.

²⁶You shall come to your grave in ^xripe old age,

like a sheaf gathered up in its season.

²⁷Behold, this we have ^ysearched out; it is true.

Hear, and know it for your good.”⁵

Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

6Then Job answered and said:

²“Oh that my vexation were weighed,

and all my calamity laid in the balances!

³For then it would be heavier than ^zthe sand of the sea;

therefore my words have been rash.

⁴For ^athe arrows of the Almighty are in me;

my spirit drinks their poison;

the terrors of God are arrayed against me.

⁵Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,

or the ox low over his fodder?

⁶Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,

or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?¹

⁷My appetite refuses to touch them;

they are as food that is loathsome to me.²

⁸“Oh that I might have my request,

and that God would fulfill my hope,

⁹that it would ^bplease God to crush me,

that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!

¹⁰This would be my comfort;

I would even exult³ in pain ^cunsparing,

for I have not denied the words of ^dthe Holy One.

¹¹What is my strength, that I should wait?

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

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?

¹³Have I any help in me,

when resource is driven from me?

¹⁴“He who ^ewithholds⁴ kindness from a ^ffriend

forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My ^gbrothers are ^htreacherous as a torrent-bed,

as torrential ⁱstreams that pass away,

¹⁶which are dark with ice,

and where the snow hides itself.

¹⁷When they melt, they disappear;

when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

¹⁸The caravans turn aside from their course;

they go up into ^jthe waste and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of ^kTema look,

the travelers of ^lSheba hope.

²⁰They are ^mashamed because they were confident;

they come there and are ^mdisappointed.

²¹For you have now become nothing;

you see my calamity and are afraid.

²²Have I said, ‘Make me a gift’?

Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me’?

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

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of ⁿthe ruthless’?

²⁴“Teach me, and I will be silent;

make me understand how I have gone astray.

²⁵How forceful are upright words!

But what does reproof from you reprove?

²⁶Do you think that you can reprove words,

when the speech of a despairing man is ^owind?

²⁷You would even ^pcast lots over the fatherless,

and bargain over your friend.

²⁸“But now, be pleased to look at me,

for I will not lie to your face.

^29qPlease turn; let no injustice be done.

Turn now; my vindication is at stake.

³⁰Is there any injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity?