Job 4:1-21
The First Speech of Eliphaz
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied,
“Job, suppose someone tries to talk to you.
Will that make you uneasy?
I can’t keep from speaking up.
Look, you taught many people.
You made weak hands strong.
Your words helped those who had fallen down.
You made shaky knees strong.
Now trouble comes to you. And you are unhappy about it.
It strikes you down. And you are afraid.
Shouldn’t you worship God and trust in him?
Shouldn’t your honest life give you hope?
“Here’s something to think about.
Have people who aren’t guilty ever been wiped out?
Have honest people ever been completely destroyed?
Here’s what I’ve observed.
People gather a crop from what they plant.
If they plant evil and trouble, that’s what they will harvest.
The breath of God destroys them.
The blast of his anger wipes them out.
Powerful lions might roar and growl.
But their teeth are broken.
Lions die because they don’t have any food.
Then their cubs are scattered.
“A message came to me in secret.
It was as quiet as a whisper.
I had a scary dream one night.
I was sound asleep.
Fear and trembling seized me.
That made every bone in my body shake.
A spirit glided past my face.
The hair on my body stood on end.
Then the spirit stopped.
But I couldn’t tell what it was.
Something stood there in front of me.
I heard a soft voice.
It said, ‘Can a human being be more right than God?
Can even a strong man be more pure than the God who made him?
God doesn’t trust those who serve him.
He even brings charges against his angels.
So he’ll certainly find fault with human beings.
After all, they are made out of dust.
They can be crushed more easily than a moth.
Between sunrise and sunset they are broken to pieces.
Nobody even notices. They disappear forever.
Like a tent that falls down, they get weak.
They die because they didn’t follow God’s wisdom.’ ”
Job 5:1-27
Eliphaz continued,
“Call out if you want to, Job.
But who will answer you?
Which one of the holy angels will you turn to?
Anger kills foolish people.
Jealousy destroys those who are childish.
I saw that foolish people were having success.
But suddenly harm came to their homes.
Their children aren’t safe at all.
They lose their case in court.
No one speaks up for them.
Hungry people eat up the crops of the foolish.
They even take the food that grows among thorns.
Thirsty people long for the wealth of the foolish.
Hard times don’t just grow out of the soil.
Trouble doesn’t jump out of the ground.
People are born to have trouble.
And that’s just as sure as sparks fly up.
“If I were you, I’d make my appeal to God.
I’d bring my case to be judged by him.
He does wonderful things that can’t be understood.
He does miracles that can’t even be counted.
He sends rain on the earth.
He sends water on the countryside.
He lifts up people who are lowly in spirit.
He lifts up those who are sad.
He keeps them safe.
He stops the evil plans of those who are clever.
The work of their hands doesn’t succeed.
Some people think they are so wise.
But God catches them in their own tricks.
He sweeps away the evil plans of sinful people.
Darkness covers them in the daytime.
At noon they feel their way around as if it were night.
God saves needy people from the cutting words of their enemies.
He saves them from their power.
So poor people have hope.
And God shuts the mouths of those who don’t treat others fairly.
“Blessed is the person God corrects.
So don’t hate the Mighty One’s training.
He wounds. But he also bandages up those he wounds.
He harms. But his hands also heal those he harms.
From six troubles he will save you.
Even if you are in trouble seven times, no harm will come to you.
When there isn’t enough food, God will keep you from dying.
When you go into battle, he won’t let a sword strike you down.
He will keep you safe from words that can hurt you.
You won’t need to be afraid
when everything is being destroyed.
You will laugh when things are being destroyed.
You will enjoy life even when there isn’t enough food.
You won’t be afraid of wild animals.
You will make a covenant with the stones in the fields.
They won’t keep your crops from growing.
Even wild animals will be at peace with you.
You will know that the tent you live in is secure.
You will check out your property.
You will see that nothing is missing.
You can be sure you will have a lot of children.
They will be as many as the blades of grass on the earth.
You will go down to the grave
while you are still very strong.
You will be like a crop that is gathered at the right time.
“We have carefully studied all these things.
And they are true.
So pay attention to them.
Apply them to yourself.”
Job 6:1-30
Job’s Reply
Job replied,
“I wish my great pain could be weighed!
I wish all my suffering could be weighed on scales!
I’m sure it would weigh more than the grains of sand on the seashore.
No wonder I’ve been so quick to speak!
The Mighty One has shot me with his arrows.
I have to drink their poison.
God’s terrors are aimed at me.
Does a wild donkey cry out when it has enough grass?
Does an ox call out when it has plenty of food?
Is food that doesn’t have any taste eaten without salt?
Is there any flavor in the sap of a mallow plant?
I refuse to touch that kind of food.
It makes me sick.
“I wish I could have what I’m asking for!
I wish God would give me what I’m hoping for!
I wish he would crush me!
I wish he would just cut off my life!
Then I’d still have one thing to comfort me.
It would be that I haven’t said no to the Holy One’s commands.
That would give me joy in spite of my pain that never ends.
“I’m so weak that I no longer have any hope.
Things have gotten so bad that I can’t wait for help anymore.
Am I as strong as stone?
Is my body made out of bronze?
I don’t have the power to help myself.
All hope of success has been taken away from me.
“A person shouldn’t stop being kind to a friend.
Anyone who does that stops showing respect for the Mighty One.
But my friends have stopped being kind to me.
They are like streams that only flow for part of the year.
They are like rivers that flow over their banks
when the ice begins to break up.
The streams rise when the snow starts to melt.
But they stop flowing when the dry season comes.
They disappear from their stream beds when the weather warms up.
Groups of traders turn away from their usual paths.
They go off into the dry and empty land.
And they die there.
Traders from Tema look for water.
Traveling merchants from Sheba also hope to find it.
They become troubled because they had expected to find some.
But when they arrive at the stream beds,
they don’t find any water at all.
And now, my friends, you haven’t helped me either.
You see the horrible condition I’m in.
And that makes you afraid.
I’ve never said, ‘Give me something to help me.
Use your wealth to set me free.
Save me from the power of my enemy.
Rescue me from the power of mean people.’
“Teach me. Then I’ll be quiet.
Show me what I’ve done wrong.
Honest words are so painful!
But your reasoning doesn’t prove anything.
Are you trying to correct what I’m saying?
Are you treating my hopeless words like nothing but wind?
You would even cast lots for those whose fathers have died.
You would even trade away your closest friend.
“But now please look at me.
Would I tell you a lie right here in front of you?
Stop what you are saying. Don’t be so unfair.
Think it over again.
You are trying to take my honesty away from me.
Has my mouth spoken anything that is evil?
Do my lips say things that are hateful?”
Job 7:1-21
Job continued,
“Don’t all human beings have to work hard on this earth?
Aren’t their days like the days of hired workers?
I’ve been like a slave
who longs for the evening shadows to come.
I’ve been like a hired worker
who is waiting to be paid.
I’ve been given several months that were useless to me.
My nights have been filled with suffering.
When I lie down I think,
‘How long will it be before I can get up?’
The night drags on.
I toss and turn until sunrise.
My body is covered with worms and sores.
My skin is broken. It has boils all over it.
“My days pass by faster than a weaver can work.
They come to an end. I don’t have any hope.
God, remember that my life is only a breath.
I’ll never be happy again.
The eyes that see me now won’t see me anymore.
You will look for me. But I’ll be gone.
When a cloud disappears, it’s gone forever.
And anyone who goes down to the grave never returns.
He never comes home again.
Even his own family doesn’t remember him.
“So I won’t keep quiet.
When I’m suffering greatly, I’ll speak out.
When my spirit is bitter, I’ll tell you how unhappy I am.
Am I the ocean? Am I the sea monster?
If I’m not, why do you guard me so closely?
Sometimes I think my bed will comfort me.
I think my couch will keep me from being unhappy.
But even then you send me dreams that frighten me.
You send me visions that terrify me.
So I would rather choke to death.
That would be better than living in this body of mine.
I hate my life. I don’t want to live forever.
Leave me alone. My days don’t mean anything to me.
“What are human beings that you think so much of them?
What are they that you pay so much attention to them?
You check up on them every morning.
You test them every moment.
Won’t you ever look away from me?
Won’t you leave me alone even for one second?
If I’ve really sinned, tell me what I’ve done to you.
You see everything we do.
Why do you shoot your arrows at me?
Have I become a problem to you?
Why don’t you forgive the wrong things I’ve done?
Why don’t you forgive me for my sins?
I’ll soon lie down in the dust of my grave.
You will search for me. But I’ll be gone.”
