1. Eliphaz’s Argument

ch4 ¹hen Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ²If] we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? ³Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. ⁴Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. ⁵But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. ⁶Is] not [this] thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? ⁷Remember, I pray thee, who [ever] perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? ⁸ven as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. ⁹By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. ¹⁰The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. ¹¹The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad. ¹²Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. ¹³In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, ¹⁴Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. ¹⁵Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: ¹⁶It 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], ¹⁷Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? ¹⁸Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: ¹⁹How much less [in] them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation [is] in the dust, [which] are crushed before the moth? ²⁰They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding [it]. ²¹Doth not their excellency [which is] in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

ch5 ¹all now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? ²For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. ³I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. ⁴His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither [is there] any to deliver [them]. ⁵Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance. ⁶Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; ⁷Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

⁸I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: ⁹Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: ¹⁰Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: ¹¹To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. ¹²He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform [their] enterprise. ¹³He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. ¹⁴They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night. ¹⁵But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. ¹⁶So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.

¹⁷Behold, happy [is] the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: ¹⁸For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. ¹⁹He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. ²⁰In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. ²¹Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. ²²At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. ²³For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. ²⁴And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle [shall be] in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. ²⁵Thou shalt know also that thy seed [shall be] great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. ²⁶Thou shalt come to [thy] grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. ²⁷Lo this, we have searched it, so it [is]; hear it, and know thou [it] for thy good.

ch6 ¹But Job answered and said, ²Oh that my grief were throughly weighed, and my calamity laid in the balances together! ³For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea: therefore my words are swallowed up. ⁴For 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. ⁵oth the wild ass bray when he hath grass? or loweth the ox over his fodder? ⁶Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there [any] taste in the white of an egg? ⁷The things [that] my soul refused to touch [are] as my sorrowful meat. ⁸Oh that I might have my request; and that God would grant [me] the thing that I long for! ⁹ven that it would please God to destroy me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off! ¹⁰Then 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. ¹¹What [is] my strength, that I should hope? and what [is] mine end, that I should prolong my life? ¹²Is] my strength the strength of stones? or [is] my flesh of brass? ¹³Is] not my help in me? and is wisdom driven quite from me?

¹⁴To him that is afflicted pity [should be shewed] from his friend; but he forsaketh the fear of the Almighty. ¹⁵My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, [and] as the stream of brooks they pass away; ¹⁶Which are blackish by reason of the ice, [and] wherein the snow is hid: ¹⁷What time they wax warm, they vanish: when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. ¹⁸The paths of their way are turned aside; they go to nothing, and perish. ¹⁹The troops of Tema looked, the companies of Sheba waited for them. ²⁰They were confounded because they had hoped; they came thither, and were ashamed. ²¹For now ye are nothing; ye see [my] casting down, and are afraid. ²²Did I say, Bring unto me? or, Give a reward for me of your substance? ²³Or, Deliver me from the enemy's hand? or, Redeem me from the hand of the mighty?

²⁴Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred. ²⁵How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove? ²⁶Do ye imagine to reprove words, and the speeches of one that is desperate, [which are] as wind? ²⁷Yea, ye overwhelm the fatherless, and ye dig [a pit] for your friend. ²⁸Now therefore be content, look upon me; for [it is] evident unto you if I lie. ²⁹Return, I pray you, let it not be iniquity; yea, return again, my righteousness [is] in it. ³⁰Is there iniquity in my tongue? cannot my taste discern perverse things?

ch7 ¹[Is there] not an appointed time to man upon earth? [are not] his days also like the days of an hireling? ²As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hireling looketh for [the reward of] his work: ³So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. ⁴hen 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. ⁵My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome. ⁶My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent without hope. ⁷O remember that my life [is] wind: mine eye shall no more see good. ⁸The eye of him that hath seen me shall see me no [more]: thine eyes [are] upon me, and I [am] not. ⁹As] the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no [more]. ¹⁰He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.

¹¹Therefore I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. ¹²Am] I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? ¹³When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my couch shall ease my complaint; ¹⁴Then thou scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me through visions: ¹⁵So that my soul chooseth strangling, [and] death rather than my life. ¹⁶I loathe [it]; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days [are] vanity. ¹⁷What [is] man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? ¹⁸And [that] thou shouldest visit him every morning, [and] try him every moment? ¹⁹How long wilt thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down my spittle? ²⁰I 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? ²¹And 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].