1 Then Eliphaz
the Temanite answered and said,
2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but
who can withhold himself from speaking?
3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened
the weak hands.
4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast
strengthened the feeble knees.
5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth
thee, and thou art troubled.
6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness
of thy ways?
7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?
or where were the righteous cut off?
8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness,
reap the same.
9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his
nostrils are they consumed.
10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,
and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's
whelps are scattered abroad.
12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received
a little thereof.
13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep
falleth on men,
14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones
to shake.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh
stood up:
16 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,
17 Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more
pure than his maker?
18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he
charged with folly:
19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose
foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
20 They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for
ever without any regarding it.
21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they
die, even without wisdom.
Chapter 5
1 Call now, if
there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints
wilt thou turn?
2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly
one.
3 I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed
his habitation.
4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in
the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out
of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither
doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
9 Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things
without number:
10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the
fields:
11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn
may be exalted to safety.
12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their
hands cannot perform their enterprise.
13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel
of the froward is carried headlong.
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the
noonday as in the night.
15 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth,
and from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise
not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his
hands make whole.
19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there
shall no evil touch thee.
20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from
the power of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither
shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt
thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field:
and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace;
and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine
offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock
of corn cometh in in his season.
27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know
thou it for thy good.
Chapter 6
1 But Job answered
and said,
2 Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid
in the balances together!
3 For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore
my words are swallowed up.
4 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.
5 Doth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox
over his fodder?
6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there
any taste in the white of an egg?
7 The things that my soul refused to touch are as my sorrowful
meat.
8 Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant
me the thing that I long for!
9 Even that it would please God to destroy me; that he would
let loose his hand, and cut me off!
10 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.
11 What is my strength, that I should hope? and what is mine
end, that I should prolong my life?
12 Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of
brass?
13 Is not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?
14 To him that is afflicted pity should be shewed from his friend;
but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty.
15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the
stream of brooks they pass away;
16 Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the
snow is hid:
17 What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they
are consumed out of their place.
18 The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing,
and perish.
19 The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited
for them.
20 They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither,
and were ashamed.
21 For now ye are nothing; ye see my casting down, and are afraid.
22 Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your
substance?
23 Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from
the hand of the mighty?
24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand
wherein I have erred.
25 How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing
reprove?
26 Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that
is desperate, which are as wind?
27 Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig a pit for your
friend.
28 Now therefore be content, look upon me; for it is evident
unto you if I lie.
29 Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again,
my righteousness is in it.
30 Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse
things? |