Job 4–5

4TH CHAPTER

Eliphaz Speaks:

Be Patient and Listen, Job

¹Then Eliphaz from Teman replied ⸤to Job⸥, 

²“If someone tries to talk to you, will you become impatient? 

But who can keep from talking? 

³Certainly, you have instructed many people: 

When hands were weak, you made them strong. 

⁴When someone stumbled, you lifted him up with your words. 

When knees were weak, you gave them strength. 

⁵But trouble comes to you, and you’re impatient. 

It touches you, and you panic. 

⁶Doesn’t your fear of God give you confidence 

and your lifetime of integrity give you hope? 

Only Evil People Suffer

⁷“Now think about this: 

Which innocent person ⸤ever⸥ died ⸤an untimely death⸥? 

Find me a decent person who has been destroyed. 

⁸Whenever I saw those who plowed wickedness and planted misery, 

they gathered its harvest. 

⁹God destroys them with his breath 

and kills them with a blast of his anger. 

¹⁰Though the roar of the lion 

and the growl of the ferocious lion ⸤is loud⸥, 

the young lions have had their teeth knocked out. 

¹¹The old lions die without any prey ⸤to eat⸥, 

and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 

¹²“I was told something secretly 

and heard something whispered in my ear. 

¹³With disturbing thoughts from visions in the night, 

when deep sleep falls on people, 

¹⁴fear and trembling came over me, 

and all my bones shook. 

¹⁵A spirit passed in front of me. 

It made my hair stand on end. 

¹⁶Something stood there. 

I couldn’t tell what it was. 

A vague image was in front of my eyes. 

I heard a soft voice: 

¹⁷‘Can ⸤any⸥ mortal be righteous to God? 

Can ⸤any⸥ human being be pure to his maker?’ 

¹⁸“You see, God doesn’t trust his own servants, 

and he accuses his angels of making mistakes. 

¹⁹How much more will he accuse those who live in clay houses 

that have their foundation in the dust. 

Those houses can be crushed quicker than a moth! 

²⁰From morning to evening, they are shattered. 

They will disappear forever without anyone paying attention. 

²¹Haven’t the ropes of their tent been loosened? 

Won’t they die without wisdom? 

5TH CHAPTER

Eliphaz Continues: Seek God’s Help, Job

¹“Cry out! 

Is there anyone to answer you? 

To which of the holy ones will you turn? 

²Certainly, anger kills a stubborn fool, 

and jealousy murders a gullible person. 

³I have seen a stubborn fool take root, 

but I quickly cursed his house. 

⁴His children are far from help. 

They are crushed at the city gate, 

and no one is there to rescue them. 

⁵What a stubborn fool gathers, hungry people eat. 

They take it even from among the thorns, 

and thirsty people pant after his wealth. 

⁶Certainly, sorrow doesn’t come from the soil, 

and trouble doesn’t sprout from the ground. 

⁷But a person is born for trouble as surely as sparks fly up ⸤from a fire⸥. 

⁸“But I would seek God’s help 

and present my case to him. 

⁹He does great things that ⸤we⸥ cannot understand 

and miracles that ⸤we⸥ cannot count. 

¹⁰He gives rain to the earth 

and sends water to the fields. 

¹¹He places lowly people up high. 

He lifts those who mourn to safety. 

¹²He keeps shrewd people from carrying out their plans 

so that they cannot do anything successfully. 

¹³He catches the wise with their own tricks. 

The plans of schemers prove to be hasty. 

¹⁴In the daytime they meet darkness 

and grope in the sunlight as if it were night. 

¹⁵“But he saves ⸤other people⸥ from their slander 

and the needy from the power of the mighty. 

¹⁶Then the poor have hope 

while wrongdoing shuts its mouth. 

Blessing Comes When God Corrects You

¹⁷“Blessed is the person whom God corrects. 

That person should not despise discipline from the Almighty. 

¹⁸God injures, but he bandages. 

He beats you up, but his hands make you well. 

¹⁹He will keep you safe from six troubles, 

and when the seventh one comes, no harm will touch you: 

²⁰“In famine he will save you from death, 

and in war he will save you from the sword. 

²¹“When the tongue lashes out, you will be safe, 

and you will not be afraid of destruction when it comes. 

²²“You will be able to laugh at destruction and starvation, 

so do not be afraid of wild animals on the earth. 

²³“You will have a binding agreement with the stones in the field, 

and wild animals will be at peace with you. 

²⁴“You will know peace in your tent. 

You will inspect your house and find nothing missing. 

²⁵“You will find that your children are many 

and your descendants are like the grass of the earth. 

²⁶“You will come to your grave at a ripe old age 

like a stack of hay in the right season. 

²⁷“We have studied all of this thoroughly! This is the way it is. 

Listen to it, and learn it for yourself.”