Eliphaz: Innocent Do Not Suffer

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,

2“If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient?

But who can refrain from speaking?

3Behold you have admonished many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

4Your words have helped the tottering to stand,

And you have strengthened feeble knees.

5But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;

It touches you, and you are dismayed.

6Is not your fear of God your confidence,

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

7“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?

Or where were the upright destroyed?

8According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity

And those who sow trouble harvest it.

9By the breath of God they perish,

And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.

10The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

11The lion perishes for lack of prey,

And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

12“Now a word was brought to me stealthily,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

13Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

14Dread came upon me, and trembling,

And made all my bones shake.

15Then a spirit passed by my face;

The hair of my flesh bristled up.

16It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence, then I heard a voice:

17‘Can mankind be just before God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

18He puts no trust even in His servants;

And against His angels He charges error.

19How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before the moth!

20Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;

Unobserved, they perish forever.

21Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them?

They die, yet without wisdom.’

God Is Just

1“Call now, is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

2For anger slays the foolish man,

And jealousy kills the simple.

3I have seen the foolish taking root,

And I cursed his abode immediately.

4His sons are far from safety,

They are even oppressed in the gate,

And there is no deliverer.

5His harvest the hungry devour

And take it to a place of thorns,

And the schemer is eager for their wealth.

6For affliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

7For man is born for trouble,

As sparks fly upward.

8“But as for me, I would seek God,

And I would place my cause before God;

9Who does great and unsearchable things,

Wonders without number.

10He gives rain on the earth

And sends water on the fields,

11So that He sets on high those who are lowly,

And those who mourn are lifted to safety.

12He frustrates the plotting of the shrewd,

So that their hands cannot attain success.

13He captures the wise by their own shrewdness,

And the advice of the cunning is quickly thwarted.

14By day they meet with darkness,

And grope at noon as in the night.

15But He saves from the sword of their mouth,

And the poor from the hand of the mighty.

16So the helpless has hope,

And unrighteousness must shut its mouth.

17“Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves,

So do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.

18For He inflicts pain, and gives relief;

He wounds, and His hands also heal.

19From six troubles He will deliver you,

Even in seven evil will not touch you.

20In famine He will redeem you from death,

And in war from the power of the sword.

21You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,

And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

22You will laugh at violence and famine,

And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.

23For you will be in league with the stones of the field,

And the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

24You will know that your tent is secure,

For you will visit your abode and fear no loss.

25You will know also that your descendants will be many,

And your offspring as the grass of the earth.

26You will come to the grave in full vigor,

Like the stacking of grain in its season.

27Behold this; we have investigated it, and so it is.

Hear it, and know for yourself.”

Job’s Friends Are No Help

1Then Job answered,

2“Oh that my grief were actually weighed

And laid in the balances together with my calamity!

3For then it would be heavier than the sand of the seas;

Therefore my words have been rash.

4For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,

Their poison my spirit drinks;

The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

5Does the wild donkey bray over his grass,

Or does the ox low over his fodder?

6Can something tasteless be eaten without salt,

Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

7My soul refuses to touch them;

They are like loathsome food to me.

8“Oh that my request might come to pass,

And that God would grant my longing!

9Would that God were willing to crush me,

That He would loose His hand and cut me off!

10But it is still my consolation,

And I rejoice in unsparing pain,

That I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

11What is my strength, that I should wait?

And what is my end, that I should endure?

12Is my strength the strength of stones,

Or is my flesh bronze?

13Is it that my help is not within me,

And that deliverance is driven from me?

14“For the despairing man there should be kindness from his friend;

So that he does not forsake the fear of the Almighty.

15My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi,

Like the torrents of wadis which vanish,

16Which are turbid because of ice

And into which the snow melts.

17When they become waterless, they are silent,

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

18The paths of their course wind along,

They go up into nothing and perish.

19The caravans of Tema looked,

The travelers of Sheba hoped for them.

20They were disappointed for they had trusted,

They came there and were confounded.

21Indeed, you have now become such,

You see a terror and are afraid.

22Have I said, ‘Give me something,’

Or, ‘Offer a bribe for me from your wealth,’

23Or, ‘Deliver me from the hand of the adversary,’

Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the tyrants’?

24“Teach me, and I will be silent;

And show me how I have erred.

25How painful are honest words!

But what does your argument prove?

26Do you intend to reprove my words,

When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

27You would even cast lots for the orphans

And barter over your friend.

28Now please look at me,

And see if I lie to your face.

29Desist now, let there be no injustice;

Even desist, my righteousness is yet in it.

30Is there injustice on my tongue?

Cannot my palate discern calamities?

Job’s Life Seems Futile

1“Is not man forced to labor on earth,

And are not his days like the days of a hired man?

2As a slave who pants for the shade,

And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,

3So am I allotted months of vanity,

And nights of trouble are appointed me.

4When I lie down I say,

‘When shall I arise?’

But the night continues,

And I am continually tossing until dawn.

5My flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,

My skin hardens and runs.

6My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,

And come to an end without hope.

7“Remember that my life is but breath;

My eye will not again see good.

8The eye of him who sees me will behold me no longer;

Your eyes will be on me, but I will not be.

9When a cloud vanishes, it is gone,

So he who goes down to Sheol does not come up.

10He will not return again to his house,

Nor will his place know him anymore.

11“Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;

I will speak in the anguish of my spirit,

I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.

12Am I the sea, or the sea monster,

That You set a guard over me?

13If I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,

My couch will ease my complaint,’

14Then You frighten me with dreams

And terrify me by visions;

15So that my soul would choose suffocation,

Death rather than my pains.

16I waste away; I will not live forever.

Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

17What is man that You magnify him,

And that You are concerned about him,

18That You examine him every morning

And try him every moment?

19Will You never turn Your gaze away from me,

Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

20Have I sinned? What have I done to You,

O watcher of men?

Why have You set me as Your target,

So that I am a burden to myself?

21Why then do You not pardon my transgression

And take away my iniquity?

For now I will lie down in the dust;

And You will seek me, but I will not be.”

18I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.

Instruction for the Church

20Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature. 21In the Law it is written, “By men of strange tongues and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people, and even so they will not listen to Me,” says the Lord. 22So then tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophecy is for a sign, not to unbelievers but to those who believe. 23Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? 24But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; 25the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

26What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; 28but if there is no interpreter, he must keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. 29Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep silent. 31For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets; 33for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.

34The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. 35If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. 36Was it from you that the word of God first went forth? Or has it come to you only?

37If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment. 38But if anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized.

39Therefore, my brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak in tongues. 40But all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner.

30The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

And his tongue speaks justice.

31The law of his God is in his heart;

His steps do not slip.

32The wicked spies upon the righteous

And seeks to kill him.

33The Lord will not leave him in his hand

Or let him be condemned when he is judged.

34Wait for the Lord and keep His way,

And He will exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35I have seen a wicked, violent man

Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.

36Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more;

I sought for him, but he could not be found.

37Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright;

For the man of peace will have a posterity.

38But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;

The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.

39But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

He is their strength in time of trouble.

40The Lord helps them and delivers them;

He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

Because they take refuge in Him.

27The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination,

How much more when he brings it with evil intent!