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Eliphaz: God is Correcting You

“Cry out now! Will anyone answer you?
    To which of the holy ones will you turn?
For resentment kills a fool,
    and envy slays the simple.
I myself have seen a fool taking root,
    but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
His sons are far from safety,
    and crushed at the gate without a deliverer!
The hungry consumes his harvest,
    taking it even from among thorns,
    and the thirsty pants after their wealth.
For evil does not come from the dust,
    nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
Yet man is born for trouble,
    as surely as sparks fly upward.
But as for me, I would seek God;
    I would lay my cause before God.
Who does great things beyond comprehension,
    wonders without number.
10 Who gives rain to the earth
    and sends water over the plains.
11 Who places the lowly on high
    and lifts mourners to salvation.
12 Who frustrates the plans of the crafty,
    so that their hands attain no success.
13 Who catches the clever in their craftiness,
    and thwarts the plan of the cunning.
14 By day they encounter darkness
    and grope at noon as if it were night.
15 But He saves the needy from the sword of their mouth,
    and from the clutches of the mighty.
16 So the helpless have hope
    and injustice shuts its mouth.

17 Behold, happy is the one whom God corrects,
    so do not despise the discipline of Shaddai.
18 For He inflicts pain, but He also binds up;
He injures, yet His hands also heal.
19 From six calamities He will deliver you,
    even in seven, no harm will touch you.
20 In famine, He will redeem you from death,
    and in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You will be hidden from the lash of the tongue,
    and not fear when violence comes.
22 You will laugh at violence and famine,
    and will not fear the beasts of the earth.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
    and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.
24 You will know shalom in your tent,
    and you will take stock of your home
    and find nothing missing.

25 “You will know that
    your descendants will be numerous
    your offspring like the grass of the earth.
26 You will come to the grave in vigor,
    like sheaves of grain in its season.
27 Behold, we have investigated this—it is true.
Hear it, and apply it to yourself!”

Eliphaz’s Response Continues

“Cry for help, but will anyone answer you?
    Which of the angels[a] will help you?
Surely resentment destroys the fool,
    and jealousy kills the simple.
I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment,
    but then comes sudden disaster.
Their children are abandoned far from help;
    they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.
The hungry devour their harvest,
    even when it is guarded by brambles.[b]
    The thirsty pant after their wealth.[c]
But evil does not spring from the soil,
    and trouble does not sprout from the earth.
People are born for trouble
    as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.

“If I were you, I would go to God
    and present my case to him.
He does great things too marvelous to understand.
    He performs countless miracles.
10 He gives rain for the earth
    and water for the fields.
11 He gives prosperity to the poor
    and protects those who suffer.
12 He frustrates the plans of schemers
    so the work of their hands will not succeed.
13 He traps the wise in their own cleverness
    so their cunning schemes are thwarted.
14 They find it is dark in the daytime,
    and they grope at noon as if it were night.
15 He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong,
    and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.
16 And so at last the poor have hope,
    and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.

17 “But consider the joy of those corrected by God!
    Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.
18 For though he wounds, he also bandages.
    He strikes, but his hands also heal.
19 From six disasters he will rescue you;
    even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.
20 He will save you from death in time of famine,
    from the power of the sword in time of war.
21 You will be safe from slander
    and have no fear when destruction comes.
22 You will laugh at destruction and famine;
    wild animals will not terrify you.
23 You will be at peace with the stones of the field,
    and its wild animals will be at peace with you.
24 You will know that your home is safe.
    When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.
25 You will have many children;
    your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!
26 You will go to the grave at a ripe old age,
    like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!

27 “We have studied life and found all this to be true.
    Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself.”

Footnotes

  1. 5:1 Hebrew the holy ones.
  2. 5:5a The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  3. 5:5b As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads A snare snatches their wealth.