Job 4-14

Eliphaz Rebukes Job

4¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: ² "If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient? But who can keep from speaking? ³ Think how you have instructed many, how you have strengthened feeble hands. ⁴ Your words have supported those who stumbled; you have strengthened faltering knees. ⁵ But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; it strikes you, and you are dismayed. ⁶ Should not your piety be your confidence and your blameless ways your hope?

⁷ "Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed? ⁸ As I have observed, those who plow evil and those who sow trouble reap it. ⁹ At the breath of God they perish; at the blast of his anger they are no more. ¹⁰ The lions may roar and growl, yet the teeth of the great lions are broken. ¹¹ The lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹² "A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. ¹³ Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on people, ¹⁴ fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. ¹⁵ A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. ¹⁶ It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice: ¹⁷ 'Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker? ¹⁸ If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, ¹⁹ how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth! ²⁰ Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever. ²¹ Are not the cords of their tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?'

5¹ "Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? ² Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple. ³ I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed. ⁴ His children are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender. ⁵ The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from among thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.

⁶ For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. ⁷ Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. ⁸ "But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. ⁹ He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. ¹⁰ He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside. ¹¹ The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. ¹² He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. ¹³ He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. ¹⁴ Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night. ¹⁵ He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful. ¹⁶ So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.

¹⁷ "Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.[1] ¹⁸ For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal. ¹⁹ From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will touch you. ²⁰ In famine he will deliver you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. ²¹ You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes. ²² You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the wild animals. ²³ For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. ²⁴ You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing. ²⁵ You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth. ²⁶ You will come to the grave in full vigor, like sheaves gathered in season. ²⁷ "We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself."

Job Reproaches His Friends

6¹ Then Job replied: ² "If only my anguish could be weighed and all my misery be placed on the scales! ³ It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas- no wonder my words have been impetuous. ⁴ The arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God's terrors are marshaled against me. ⁵ Does a wild donkey bray when it has grass, or an ox bellow when it has fodder? ⁶ Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the sap of the mallow[2] ? ⁷ I refuse to touch it; such food makes me ill.

⁸ "Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant what I hope for, ⁹ that God would be willing to crush me, to let loose his hand and cut off my life! ¹⁰ Then I would still have this consolation- my joy in unrelenting pain- that I had not denied the words of the Holy One. ¹¹ "What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be patient? ¹² Do I have the strength of stone? Is my flesh bronze? ¹³ Do I have any power to help myself, now that success has been driven from me?

¹⁴ "Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty. ¹⁵ But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams, as the streams that overflow ¹⁶ when darkened by thawing ice and swollen with melting snow, ¹⁷ but that stop flowing in the dry season, and in the heat vanish from their channels. ¹⁸ Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go off into the wasteland and perish. ¹⁹ The caravans of Tema look for water, the traveling merchants of Sheba look in hope. ²⁰ They are distressed, because they had been confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed. ²¹ Now you too have proved to be of no help; you see something dreadful and are afraid.

²² Have I ever said, 'Give something on my behalf, pay a ransom for me from your wealth, ²³ deliver me from the hand of the enemy, rescue me from the clutches of the ruthless'? ²⁴ "Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong. ²⁵ How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove? ²⁶ Do you mean to correct what I say, and treat my desperate words as wind? ²⁷ You would even cast lots for the fatherless and barter away your friend. ²⁸ "But now be so kind as to look at me. Would I lie to your face? ²⁹ Relent, do not be unjust; reconsider, for my integrity is at stake.[3] ³⁰ Is there any wickedness on my lips? Can my mouth not discern malice?

Job Remonstrates with God

7¹ "Do not mortals have hard service on earth? Are not their days like those of hired laborers? ² Like a slave longing for the evening shadows, or a hired laborer waiting to be paid, ³ so I have been allotted months of futility, and nights of misery have been assigned to me. ⁴ When I lie down I think, 'How long before I get up?' The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn. ⁵ My body is clothed with worms and scabs, my skin is broken and festering. ⁶ "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and they come to an end without hope.

⁷ Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. ⁸ The eye that now sees me will see me no longer; you will look for me, but I will be no more. ⁹ As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so one who goes down to the grave does not return. ¹⁰ He will never come to his house again; his place will know him no more. ¹¹ "Therefore I will not keep silent; I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit, I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. ¹² Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that you put me under guard? ¹³ When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, ¹⁴ even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions, ¹⁵ so that I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. ¹⁶ I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning.

¹⁷ "What is mankind that you make so much of them, that you give them so much attention, ¹⁸ that you examine them every morning and test them every moment? ¹⁹ Will you never look away from me, or let me alone even for an instant? ²⁰ If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?[4] ²¹ Why do you not pardon my offenses and forgive my sins? For I will soon lie down in the dust; you will search for me, but I will be no more."

Bildad Affirms God's Justice

8¹ Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: ² "How long will you say such things? Your words are a blustering wind. ³ Does God pervert justice? Does the Almighty pervert what is right? ⁴ When your children sinned against him, he gave them over to the penalty of their sin. ⁵ But if you will seek God earnestly and plead with the Almighty, ⁶ if you are pure and upright, even now he will rouse himself on your behalf and restore you to your prosperous state. ⁷ Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.

⁸ "Ask the former generation and find out what their ancestors learned, ⁹ for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. ¹⁰ Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding? ¹¹ Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh? Can reeds thrive without water? ¹² While still growing and uncut, they wither more quickly than grass. ¹³ Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless. ¹⁴ What they trust in is fragile[5] ; what they rely on is a spider's web. ¹⁵ They lean on the web, but it gives way; they cling to it, but it does not hold. ¹⁶ They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden; ¹⁷ it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones. ¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says, 'I never saw you.' ¹⁹ Surely its life withers away, and[6] from the soil other plants grow.

²⁰ "Surely God does not reject one who is blameless or strengthen the hands of evildoers. ²¹ He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. ²² Your enemies will be clothed in shame, and the tents of the wicked will be no more."

Job's Inability to Answer God

9¹ Then Job replied: ² "Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God? ³ Though they wished to dispute with him, they could not answer him one time out of a thousand. ⁴ His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed? ⁵ He moves mountains without their knowing it and overturns them in his anger. ⁶ He shakes the earth from its place and makes its pillars tremble. ⁷ He speaks to the sun and it does not shine; he seals off the light of the stars. ⁸ He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea. ⁹ He is the Maker of the Bear[7] and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south. ¹⁰ He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. ¹¹ When he passes me, I cannot see him; when he goes by, I cannot perceive him. ¹² If he snatches away, who can stop him? Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?' ¹³ God does not restrain his anger; even the cohorts of Rahab cowered at his feet.

¹⁴ "How then can I dispute with him? How can I find words to argue with him? ¹⁵ Though I were innocent, I could not answer him; I could only plead with my Judge for mercy. ¹⁶ Even if I summoned him and he responded, I do not believe he would give me a hearing. ¹⁷ He would crush me with a storm and multiply my wounds for no reason. ¹⁸ He would not let me catch my breath but would overwhelm me with misery. ¹⁹ If it is a matter of strength, he is mighty! And if it is a matter of justice, who can challenge him[8] ? ²⁰ Even if I were innocent, my mouth would condemn me; if I were blameless, it would pronounce me guilty. ²¹ "Although I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.

²² It is all the same; that is why I say, 'He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.' ²³ When a scourge brings sudden death, he mocks the despair of the innocent. ²⁴ When a land falls into the hands of the wicked, he blindfolds its judges. If it is not he, then who is it?

²⁵ "My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy. ²⁶ They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey. ²⁷ If I say, 'I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,' ²⁸ I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent. ²⁹ Since I am already found guilty, why should I struggle in vain? ³⁰ Even if I washed myself with soap and my hands with cleansing powder, ³¹ you would plunge me into a slime pit so that even my clothes would detest me. ³² "He is not a mere mortal like me that I might answer him, that we might confront each other in court. ³³ If only there were someone to mediate between us, someone to bring us together, ³⁴ someone to remove God's rod from me, so that his terror would frighten me no more. ³⁵ Then I would speak up without fear of him, but as it now stands with me, I cannot.

Job Bemoans His Condition

10¹ "I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. ² I say to God: Do not declare me guilty, but tell me what charges you have against me. ³ Does it please you to oppress me, to spurn the work of your hands, while you smile on the plans of the wicked? ⁴ Do you have eyes of flesh? Do you see as a mortal sees? ⁵ Are your days like those of a mortal or your years like those of a strong man, ⁶ that you must search out my faults and probe after my sin- ⁷ though you know that I am not guilty and that no one can rescue me from your hand?

⁸ "Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? ⁹ Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? ¹⁰ Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, ¹¹ clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? ¹² You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit. ¹³ "But this is what you concealed in your heart, and I know that this was in your mind:

¹⁴ If I sinned, you would be watching me and would not let my offense go unpunished. ¹⁵ If I am guilty-woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in[9] my affliction. ¹⁶ If I hold my head high, you stalk me like a lion and again display your awesome power against me. ¹⁷ You bring new witnesses against me and increase your anger toward me; your forces come against me wave upon wave. ¹⁸ "Why then did you bring me out of the womb? I wish I had died before any eye saw me. ¹⁹ If only I had never come into being, or had been carried straight from the womb to the grave! ²⁰ Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment's joy ²¹ before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and utter darkness, ²² to the land of deepest night, of utter darkness and disorder, where even the light is like darkness."

Zophar Accuses Job of Iniquity

11¹ Then Zophar the Naamathite replied: ² "Are all these words to go unanswered? Is this talker to be vindicated? ³ Will your idle talk reduce others to silence? Will no one rebuke you when you mock? ⁴ You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless and I am pure in your sight.' ⁵ Oh, how I wish that God would speak, that he would open his lips against you ⁶ and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.

⁷ "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? ⁸ They are higher than the heavens above-what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below-what can you know? ⁹ Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea. ¹⁰ "If he comes along and confines you in prison and convenes a court, who can oppose him? ¹¹ Surely he recognizes deceivers; and when he sees evil, does he not take note? ¹² But the witless can no more become wise than a wild donkey's colt can be born human.[10]

¹³ "Yet if you devote your heart to him and stretch out your hands to him, ¹⁴ if you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, ¹⁵ then, free of fault, you will lift up your face; you will stand firm and without fear. ¹⁶ You will surely forget your trouble, recalling it only as waters gone by. ¹⁷ Life will be brighter than noonday, and darkness will become like morning. ¹⁸ You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. ¹⁹ You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor. ²⁰ But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; their hope will become a dying gasp."

Job Affirms God's Power and Wisdom

12¹ Then Job replied: ² "Doubtless you are the only people who matter, and wisdom will die with you! ³ But I have a mind as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Who does not know all these things? ⁴ "I have become a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God and he answered- a mere laughingstock, though righteous and blameless! ⁵ Those who are at ease have contempt for misfortune as the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

⁶ The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure- those God has in his hand.[11] ⁷ "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; ⁸ or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. ⁹ Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? ¹⁰ In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. ¹¹ Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food?

¹² Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? ¹³ "To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. ¹⁴ What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; those he imprisons cannot be released. ¹⁵ If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. ¹⁶ To him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are his. ¹⁷ He leads rulers away stripped and makes fools of judges. ¹⁸ He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth[12] around their waist. ¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped and overthrows officials long established. ²⁰ He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. ²¹ He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. ²² He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light. ²³ He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. ²⁴ He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he makes them wander in a trackless waste. ²⁵ They grope in darkness with no light; he makes them stagger like drunkards.

Job Defends His Integrity

13¹ "My eyes have seen all this, my ears have heard and understood it. ² What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. ³ But I desire to speak to the Almighty and to argue my case with God. ⁴ You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! ⁵ If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom. ⁶ Hear now my argument; listen to the pleas of my lips. ⁷ Will you speak wickedly on God's behalf? Will you speak deceitfully for him? ⁸ Will you show him partiality? Will you argue the case for God? ⁹ Would it turn out well if he examined you? Could you deceive him as you might deceive a mortal? ¹⁰ He would surely call you to account if you secretly showed partiality. ¹¹ Would not his splendor terrify you? Would not the dread of him fall on you? ¹² Your maxims are proverbs of ashes; your defenses are defenses of clay.

¹³ "Keep silent and let me speak; then let come to me what may. ¹⁴ Why do I put myself in jeopardy and take my life in my hands? ¹⁵ Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely[13] defend my ways to his face. ¹⁶ Indeed, this will turn out for my deliverance, for no godless person would dare come before him! ¹⁷ Listen carefully to what I say; let my words ring in your ears. ¹⁸ Now that I have prepared my case, I know I will be vindicated. ¹⁹ Can anyone bring charges against me? If so, I will be silent and die. ²⁰ "Only grant me these two things, God, and then I will not hide from you: ²¹ Withdraw your hand far from me, and stop frightening me with your terrors. ²² Then summon me and I will answer, or let me speak, and you reply to me.

²³ How many wrongs and sins have I committed? Show me my offense and my sin. ²⁴ Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy? ²⁵ Will you torment a windblown leaf? Will you chase after dry chaff? ²⁶ For you write down bitter things against me and make me reap the sins of my youth. ²⁷ You fasten my feet in shackles; you keep close watch on all my paths by putting marks on the soles of my feet. ²⁸ "So man wastes away like something rotten, like a garment eaten by moths.

Job Muses on the Brevity of Life

14¹ "Mortals, born of woman, are of few days and full of trouble. ² They spring up like flowers and wither away; like fleeting shadows, they do not endure. ³ Do you fix your eye on them? Will you bring them[14] before you for judgment? ⁴ Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! ⁵ A person's days are determined; you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed. ⁶ So look away from him and let him alone, till he has put in his time like a hired laborer.

⁷ "At least there is hope for a tree: If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. ⁸ Its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, ⁹ yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. ¹⁰ But a man dies and is laid low; he breathes his last and is no more. ¹¹ As the water of a lake dries up or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, ¹² so he lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, people will not awake or be roused from their sleep. ¹³ "If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and then remember me! ¹⁴ If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal[15] to come. ¹⁵ You will call and I will answer you; you will long for the creature your hands have made.

¹⁶ Surely then you will count my steps but not keep track of my sin. ¹⁷ My offenses will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin. ¹⁸ "But as a mountain erodes and crumbles and as a rock is moved from its place, ¹⁹ as water wears away stones and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy a person's hope. ²⁰ You overpower them once for all, and they are gone; you change their countenance and send them away. ²¹ If their children are honored, they do not know it; if their offspring are brought low, they do not see it. ²² They feel but the pain of their own bodies and mourn only for themselves."