Job 4–6

The First Speech of Eliphaz

4Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied,

²“Job, suppose someone tries to talk to you.

Will that make you uneasy?

I can’t keep from speaking up.

³Look, you taught many people.

You made weak hands strong.

⁴Your words helped those who had fallen down.

You made shaky knees strong.

⁵Now trouble comes to you. And you are unhappy about it.

It strikes you down. And you are afraid.

⁶Shouldn’t you worship God and trust in him?

Shouldn’t your honest life give you hope?

⁷“Here’s something to think about.

Have blameless people ever been wiped out?

Have honest people ever been completely destroyed?

⁸Here’s what I’ve observed.

People gather a crop from what they plant.

If they plant evil and trouble, that’s what they will harvest.

⁹The breath of God destroys them.

The blast of his anger wipes them out.

¹⁰Powerful lions might roar and growl.

But their teeth are broken.

¹¹Lions die because they don’t have any food.

Then their cubs are scattered.

¹²“A message came to me in secret.

It was as quiet as a whisper.

¹³I had a scary dream one night.

I was sound asleep.

¹⁴Fear and trembling grabbed hold of me.

That made every bone in my body shake.

¹⁵A spirit glided past my face.

The hair on my body stood on end.

¹⁶Then the spirit stopped.

But I couldn’t tell what it was.

Something stood there in front of me.

I heard a soft voice.

¹⁷It said, ‘Can a human being be more right than God?

Can a mere man be more pure than the One who made him?

¹⁸God doesn’t trust those who serve him.

He even brings charges against his angels.

¹⁹So he’ll certainly find fault with human beings.

After all, they are made out of dust.

They can be crushed more easily than a moth.

²⁰Between sunrise and sunset they are broken to pieces.

Nobody even notices. They disappear forever.

²¹Like a tent that falls down, they get weak.

They die because they didn’t follow God’s wisdom.’ ”

5Eliphaz continued,

“Call out if you want to, Job.

But who will answer you?

Which one of the holy angels will you turn to?

²Anger kills foolish people.

Jealousy destroys those who are childish.

³I saw that foolish people were having success.

But suddenly a curse came down on their houses.

⁴Their children aren’t safe at all.

They lose their case in court.

No one speaks up for them.

⁵Hungry people eat up the crops of those who are foolish.

They even take the food that grows among thorns.

Thirsty people long for the wealth of the foolish.

⁶Hard times don’t just grow out of the soil.

Trouble doesn’t jump out of the ground.

⁷People are born to have trouble.

And that’s just as sure as sparks fly up.

⁸“If I were you, I’d make my appeal to God.

I’d bring my case to be judged by him.

⁹He does wonderful things that can’t be understood.

He does miracles that can’t even be counted.

¹⁰He sends rain on the earth.

He sends water on the countryside.

¹¹He lifts up those who are lowly in spirit.

He lifts up those who are sad.

He keeps them safe.

¹²He stops those who are tricky from doing what they plan to do.

The work of their hands doesn’t succeed.

¹³Some people think they are so wise.

But God catches them in their own tricks.

He sweeps away the evil plans of sinful people.

¹⁴Darkness covers them in the daytime.

At noon they feel their way around as if it were night.

¹⁵God saves needy people from the cutting words of their enemies.

He saves them from their powerful hands.

¹⁶So those who are poor have hope.

And God shuts the mouths of people who don’t treat others fairly.

¹⁷“Blessed is the person God corrects.

So don’t hate the Mighty One’s training.

¹⁸He wounds. But he also bandages up those he wounds.

He harms. But his hands also heal those he harms.

¹⁹From six troubles he will save you.

Even if you are in trouble seven times, no harm will come to you.

²⁰When there isn’t enough food, God will keep you from dying.

When you go into battle, he won’t let a sword strike you down.

²¹He will keep you safe from words that can hurt you.

You won’t need to be afraid

when everything is being destroyed.

²²You will laugh when things are being destroyed.

You will enjoy life even when there isn’t enough food.

You won’t be afraid of wild animals.

²³You will make a covenant with the stones in the fields.

They won’t keep your crops from growing.

Even wild animals will be at peace with you.

²⁴You will know that the tent you live in is secure.

You will check out your property.

You will see that nothing is missing.

²⁵You can be sure you will have a lot of children.

They will be as many as the blades of grass on the earth.

²⁶You will go down to the grave

while you are still very strong.

You will be like a crop that is gathered at the right time.

²⁷“We have carefully studied all of those things.

And they are true.

So pay attention to them.

Apply them to yourself.”

Job’s Reply

6Job replied,

²“I wish my great pain could be weighed!

I wish all of my suffering could be weighed on scales!

³I’m sure they would weigh more than the grains of sand on the seashore.

No wonder I’ve been so quick to speak!

⁴The Mighty One has shot me with his arrows.

I have to drink their poison.

God’s terrors are aimed at me.

⁵Does a wild donkey cry out when it has enough grass?

Does an ox call out when it has plenty of food?

⁶Is food that doesn’t have any taste eaten without salt?

Is there any flavor in the white of an egg?

⁷I refuse to touch that kind of food.

It makes me sick.

⁸“I wish I could have what I’m asking for!

I wish God would give me what I’m hoping for!

⁹I wish he would crush me!

I wish his powerful hand would cut off my life!

¹⁰Then I’d still have one thing to comfort me.

It would be that I haven’t said no to the Holy One’s commands.

That would give me joy in spite of my pain that never ends.

¹¹“I’m so weak that I no longer have any hope.

Things have gotten so bad that I can’t wait for help anymore.

¹²Am I as strong as stone?

Is my body made out of bronze?

¹³I don’t have the power to help myself.

All hope of success has been taken away from me.

¹⁴“A man’s friends should love him when his hope is gone.

They should be faithful to him

even if he stops showing respect for the Mighty One.

¹⁵But my friends aren’t faithful to me.

They are like streams that only flow for part of the year.

They are like rivers that flow over their banks

¹⁶when the ice begins to break up.

The streams rise when the snow starts to melt.

¹⁷But they stop flowing when the dry season comes.

They disappear from their stream beds when the weather warms up.

¹⁸Groups of traders turn away from their usual paths.

They go up into the dry and empty land.

And they die there.

¹⁹Traders from Tema look for water.

Traveling merchants from Sheba also hope to find it.

²⁰They become troubled because they had expected to find some.

But when they arrive at the stream beds,

they don’t find any water at all.

²¹And now, my friends, you haven’t helped me either.

You see the horrible condition I’m in.

And that makes you afraid.

²²I’ve never said, ‘Give me something to help me.

Use your wealth to set me free.

²³Save me from the powerful hand of my enemy.

Set me free from the power of mean people.’

²⁴“Teach me. Then I’ll be quiet.

Show me what I’ve done wrong.

²⁵Honest words are so painful!

But your reasoning doesn’t prove anything.

²⁶Are you trying to correct what I’m saying?

You are treating the words of this hopeless man

like nothing but wind.

²⁷You would even cast lots for those whose fathers have died.

You would even trade away your closest friend.

²⁸“But now please look at me.

Would I tell you a lie right here in front of you?

²⁹Stop what you are saying. Don’t be so unfair.

Think it over again.

You are trying to take my honesty away from me.

³⁰Has my mouth spoken anything that is evil?

Do my lips say things that are hateful?”