1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
2 If one 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 made firm the feeble knees. 5 But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6 Is not thy fear [of God] thy confidence, [And] the integrity of thy ways thy hope?
7 Remember, I pray thee, who [ever] perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off? 8 According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, And sow trouble, reap the same. 9 By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of his anger 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 whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, And mine ear received a whisper 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 appearance thereof; A form 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 putteth no trust in his servants; And his angels he chargeth with folly: 19 How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! 20 Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed: They perish for ever without any regarding it. 21 Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.
1 Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn? 2 For vexation killeth the foolish man, And jealousy 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 snare gapeth for their substance. 6 For affliction cometh not forth from the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 7 But man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward.
8 But as for me, I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause; 9 Who doeth great things and unsearchable, Marvellous things without number: 10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth waters upon the fields; 11 So that he setteth up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety. 12 He frustrateth 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 cunning is carried headlong. 14 They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night. 15 But he saveth from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy 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 will deliver thee in six troubles; Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. 20 In famine he will 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 dearth 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 tent is in peace; And thou shalt visit thy fold, and shalt miss nothing. 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 grain cometh in in its season. 27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; Hear it, and know thou it for thy good.