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Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
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If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?
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Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
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Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
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But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
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Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
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Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
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Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
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By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
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The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
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The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.
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Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
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In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
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Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
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Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
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It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
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Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
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Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:
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How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
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They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.
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Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
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Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
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For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
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I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
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His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
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Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
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Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
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Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
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I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
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Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
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Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
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To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
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He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
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He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
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They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
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But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
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So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
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Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
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For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
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He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
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In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
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Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
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At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
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For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
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And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
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Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
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Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
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Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
1
But Job answered and said,
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Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together!
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For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up.
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For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit: the terrors of God do set themselves in array against me.
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Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder?
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Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
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The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful meat.
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Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant me the thing that I long for!
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Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!
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Then should I yet have comfort; yea, I would harden myself in sorrow: let him not spare; for I have not concealed the words of the Holy One.
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What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine end, that I should prolong my life?
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Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass?
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Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?
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To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
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My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away;
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Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid:
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What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
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The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish.
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The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them.
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They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed.
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For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.
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Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance?
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Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?
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Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.
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How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?
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Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, which are as wind?
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Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your friend.
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Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident unto you if I lie.
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Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness is in it.
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Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?
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Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling?
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As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for the reward of his work:
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So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me.
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When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.
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My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome.
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My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope.
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O remember that my life is wind: mine eye shall no more see good.
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The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am not.
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As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more.
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He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
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Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.
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Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me?
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When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint;
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Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions:
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So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life.
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I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity.
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What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?
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And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every moment?
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How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle?
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I have sinned; what shall I do unto thee, O thou preserver of men? why hast thou set me as a mark against thee, so that I am a burden to myself?
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And why dost thou not pardon my transgression, and take away mine iniquity? for now shall I sleep in the dust; and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.
