Job Chapter 4 to 6 : English Standard Version   | SearchSearch | Next Version | Previous Page | Next Page |

Other VersionsEliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper

4:1 Then 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 strengthened the weak hands. 4Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees. 5But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed. 6Is not your fear of God[1] your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope?

7“Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? 8As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. 9By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his anger they are consumed. 10The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the 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 the whisper of it. 13Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep 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. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice: 17‘Can mortal man be in the right before[2] God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? 18Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error; 19how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth. 20Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. 21Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

[1] Hebrew lacks of God  [2] Or more than; twice in this verse


5   5:1 “Call now; is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? 2Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple. 3I have seen the fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling. 4His children are far from safety; they are crushed in the gate, and there is no one to deliver them. 5The hungry eat his harvest, and he takes it even out of thorns,[3] and the thirsty[4] pant after his[5] wealth. 6For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground, 7but man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.

8“As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, 9who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: 10he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; 11he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. 12He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. 13He catches 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 grope at noonday as in the night. 15But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty. 16So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

17“Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves; therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty. 18For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. 19He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no evil[6] shall touch you. 20In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 21You shall be hidden 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 the 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 tent is at peace, and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing. 25You shall know also that your offspring shall be many, and your descendants as the grass of the earth. 26You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season. 27Behold, this we have searched out; it is true. Hear, and know it for your good.”[7]

[3] The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain  [4] Aquila, Symmachus, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew could be read as snare  [5] Hebrew their  [6] Or disaster  [7] Hebrew for yourself 


6  Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just

6:1 Then 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 the sand of the sea; therefore my words have been rash. 4For the 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?[8] 7My appetite refuses to touch them; they are as food that is loathsome to me.[9]

8“Oh that I might have my request, and that God would fulfill my hope, 9that it would please God to crush me, that he would let loose his hand and cut me off! 10This would be my comfort; I would even exult[10] in pain unsparing, for I have not denied the words of the 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 withholds[11] kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. 15My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed, as torrential streams 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 the waste and perish. 19The caravans of Tema look, the travelers of Sheba hope. 20They are ashamed because they were confident; they come there and are disappointed. 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 the 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 wind? 27You would even cast 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. 29Please 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?

[8] The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain  [9] The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain  [10] The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain  [11] Syriac, Vulgate (compare Targum); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain

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