Job 4–6

Chapter 4

Eliphaz: Innocent Do Not Suffer

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite ¹answered,

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

But ^awho can refrain ¹from speaking?

³“Behold ^ayou have admonished many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

⁴“Your words have ¹helped the tottering to stand,

And you have strengthened ²feeble knees.

⁵“But now it has come to you, and you ^aare impatient;

It ^btouches you, and you are dismayed.

⁶“Is not your ^1afear of God ^byour confidence,

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Remember now, ^awho ever perished being innocent?

Or where were the upright destroyed?

⁸“According to what I have seen, ^athose who plow iniquity

And those who sow trouble harvest it.

⁹“By ^athe breath of God they perish,

And ^bby the ¹blast of His anger they come to an end.

¹⁰“The ^aroaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹“The ^alion perishes for lack of prey,

And the ^bwhelps of the lioness are scattered.

¹²“Now a word ^awas brought to me stealthily,

And my ear received a ^bwhisper of it.

¹³“Amid disquieting ^athoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴Dread came upon me, and trembling,

And made ¹all my bones shake.

¹⁵“Then a ¹spirit passed by my face;

The hair of my flesh bristled up.

¹⁶“It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence, then I heard a voice:

¹⁷‘Can ^amankind be just ¹before God?

Can a man be pure before his ^bMaker?

¹⁸‘^aHe puts no trust even in His servants;

And against His angels He charges error.

¹⁹‘How much more those who dwell in ^ahouses of clay,

Whose ^bfoundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before the moth!

²⁰‘^aBetween morning and evening they are broken in pieces;

Unobserved, they ^bperish forever.

²¹‘Is not their ^atent-cord plucked up within them?

They die, yet ^bwithout wisdom.’

Chapter 5

God Is Just

¹“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the ^aholy ones will you turn?

²“For ^aanger slays the foolish man,

And jealousy kills the simple.

³“I have seen the ^afoolish taking root,

And I ^bcursed his abode immediately.

⁴“His ^asons are far from safety,

They are even ¹oppressed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

⁵“¹His harvest the hungry devour

And take it to a place of thorns,

And the ^2aschemer is eager for their wealth.

⁶“For ^aaffliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

⁷For ^aman is born for trouble,

As sparks fly upward.

⁸“But as for me, I would ^aseek God,

And I would place my cause before God;

⁹Who ^adoes great and unsearchable things,

¹Wonders without number.

¹⁰“He ^agives rain on the earth

And sends water on the fields,

¹¹So that ^aHe sets on high those who are lowly,

And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

¹²“He ^afrustrates the plotting of the shrewd,

So that their hands cannot attain success.

¹³“He ^acaptures the wise by their own shrewdness,

And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

¹⁴“By day they ^ameet with darkness,

And grope at noon as in the night.

¹⁵“But He saves from ^athe sword of their mouth,

And ^bthe poor from the hand of the mighty.

¹⁶“So the helpless has hope,

And ^aunrighteousness must shut its mouth.

¹⁷“Behold, how ^ahappy is the man whom God reproves,

So do not despise the ^bdiscipline of ¹the Almighty.

¹⁸“For ^aHe inflicts pain, and ¹gives relief;

He wounds, and His hands also heal.

¹⁹“¹From six troubles ^aHe will deliver you,

Even in seven ^bevil will not touch you.

²⁰“In ^afamine He will redeem you from death,

And ^bin war from the power of the sword.

²¹“You will be ^ahidden from the scourge of the tongue,

^bAnd you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

²²“You will ^alaugh at violence and famine,

^bAnd you will not be afraid of ¹wild beasts.

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

And ^athe beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

²⁴“You will know that your ^atent is secure,

For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.

²⁵“You will know also that your ^1adescendants will be many,

And ^byour offspring as the grass of the earth.

²⁶“You will ^acome to the grave in full vigor,

Like the stacking of grain in its season.

²⁷“Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.

Hear it, and know for yourself.”

Chapter 6

Job’s Friends Are No Help

¹Then Job ¹answered,

²“^aOh that my grief were actually weighed

And laid in the balances together with my calamity!

³“For then it would be ^aheavier than the sand of the seas;

Therefore my words have been rash.

⁴“For the ^aarrows of the Almighty are within me,

¹Their ^bpoison my spirit drinks;

The ^cterrors of God are arrayed against me.

⁵“Does the ^awild donkey bray over his grass,

Or does the ox low over his fodder?

⁶“Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,

Or is there any taste in the ¹white of an egg?

⁷“My soul ^arefuses to touch them;

They are like loathsome food to me.

⁸“Oh that my request might come to pass,

And that God would grant my longing!

⁹“Would that God were ^awilling to crush me,

That He would loose His hand and cut me off!

¹⁰“But it is still my consolation,

And I rejoice in unsparing pain,

That I ^ahave not ¹denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹“What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is my end, that I should ^1aendure?

¹²“Is my strength the strength of stones,

Or is my flesh bronze?

¹³“Is it that my ^ahelp is not within me,

And that ^1bdeliverance is driven from me?

¹⁴“For the ^adespairing man there should be kindness from his friend;

So that he does not ^bforsake the ¹fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵“My brothers have acted ^adeceitfully like a ¹wadi,

Like the torrents of wadis which vanish,

¹⁶Which are turbid because of ice

And into which the snow ¹melts.

¹⁷“When ^athey become waterless, they ¹are silent,

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

¹⁸“The ¹paths of their course wind along,

They go up into nothing and perish.

¹⁹“The caravans of ^aTema looked,

The travelers of ^bSheba hoped for them.

²⁰“They ^awere ¹disappointed for they had trusted,

They came there and were confounded.

²¹“Indeed, you have now become such,

^aYou see a terror and are afraid.

²²“Have I said, ‘Give me something,’

Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

²³Or, ‘Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

²⁴“Teach me, and ^aI will be silent;

And show me how I have erred.

²⁵“How painful are honest words!

But what does your argument prove?

²⁶“Do you intend to reprove my words,

When the ^awords of one in despair belong to the wind?

²⁷“You would even ^acast lots for ^bthe orphans

And ^cbarter over your friend.

²⁸“Now please look at me,

And see if I ^alie to your face.

²⁹“Desist now, let there be no injustice;

Even desist, ^amy righteousness is yet in it.

³⁰“Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot ^amy palate discern ¹calamities?