Add parallel Print Page Options

Eliphaz Continues

Call Out for Help

Job, call out for help
    and see if an angel comes!

Envy and jealousy
    will kill a stupid fool.
I have seen fools take root.
But God sends a curse,
    suddenly uprooting them
and leaving their children
    helpless in court.
Then hungry and greedy people
gobble up their crops
    and grab their wealth.[a]
Our suffering isn't caused
    by the failure of crops;
it's all part of life,
    like sparks shooting skyward.

Job, if I were you,
    I would ask God for help.
(A) His miracles are marvelous,
    more than we can count.
10 God sends showers on earth
    and waters the fields.
11 He protects the sorrowful
and lifts up those
    who have been disgraced.
* 12 God swiftly traps the wicked
13 (B) in their own evil schemes,
    and their wisdom fails.
14 Darkness is their only companion,
    hiding their path at noon.
15 God rescues the needy
from the words of the wicked
    and the fist of the mighty.
16 The poor are filled with hope,
    and injustice is silenced.

Consider Yourself Fortunate

17 (C) Consider yourself fortunate
if God All-Powerful
    chooses to correct you.
18 (D) He may cause injury and pain,
but he will bandage and heal
    your cuts and bruises.
19 God will protect you from harm,
no matter how often
    trouble may strike.

20 In times of war and famine,
    God will keep you safe.
21 You will be sheltered,
without fear of hurtful words
    or any other weapon.
22 You will laugh at the threat
    of destruction and famine.
And you won't be afraid
    of wild animals—
23 they will no longer be fierce,
and your rocky fields
    will become friendly.
24 Your home will be secure,
    and your sheep will be safe.
25 You will have more descendants
than there are blades of grass
    on the face of the earth.
26 You will live a very long life,
and your body will be strong
    until the day you die.
27 Our experience has proven
these things to be true,
    so listen and learn.

Job's Reply to Eliphaz

It's Impossible

Job said:
It's impossible to weigh
    my misery and grief!
They outweigh the sand
    along the beach,
and that's why I have spoken
    without thinking first.
The fearsome arrows
    of God All-Powerful
have filled my soul
    with their poison.
Do oxen and wild donkeys
cry out in distress
    unless they are hungry?
What is food without salt?
What is more tasteless
    than the white of an egg?[b]
That's how my food tastes,
    and my appetite is gone.

* How I wish that God
would answer my prayer
    and do away with me.
10 Then I would be comforted,
knowing that in all of my pain
    I have never disobeyed God.
11 Why should I patiently hope
    when my strength is gone?
12 I am not strong as stone
    or bronze,
13 and I have finally reached
    the end of my rope.

My Friends, I Am Desperate

14 My friends, I am desperate,
    and you should help me,
even if I no longer respect
    God All-Powerful.[c]
* 15 But you are treacherous
16 like streams that swell
    with melting snow,
17 then suddenly disappear
    in the summer heat.
18 I am like a caravan,
lost in the desert
    while searching for water.
19 Caravans from Tema and Sheba[d]
20     thought they would find water.
But they were disappointed,
21     just as I am with you.[e]
Only one look at my suffering,
    and you run away scared.

What Have I Done Wrong?

22 Have I ever asked any of you
    to give me a gift
23 or to purchase my freedom
    from brutal enemies?
24 What have I done wrong?
Show me,
    and I will keep quiet.
25 The truth is always painful,
but your arguments
    prove nothing.
26 Here I am desperate,
and you consider my words
    as worthless as wind.
27 Why, you would sell an orphan
    or your own neighbor!
28 Look me straight in the eye;
    I won't lie to you.
29 Stop accusing me falsely;
    my reputation is at stake.
30 I know right from wrong,
    and I am not telling lies.

Job Continues

Why Is Life So Hard?

Why is life so hard?
    Why do we suffer?
We are slaves in search of shade;
we are laborers longing
    for our wages.
God has made my days drag on
    and my nights miserable.
I pray for night to end,
but it stretches out
    while I toss and turn.
My parched skin is covered
    with worms, dirt, and sores,
and my days are running out
quicker than the thread
    of a fast-moving needle.

Don't Forget!

I beg you, God, don't forget!
My life is just a breath,
    and trouble lies ahead.
I will vanish from sight,
and no one, including you,
    will ever see me again.
(E) I will disappear in the grave
or vanish from sight
    like a passing cloud.
10 Never will I return home;
    soon I will be forgotten.

11 And so, I cry out to you
    in agony and distress.
12 Am I the sea or a sea monster?
    Is that why you imprison me?[f]
13 I go to bed, hoping for rest,
14 but you torture me
    with terrible dreams.
* 15 I'd rather choke to death
    than live in this body.
16 Leave me alone and let me die;
    my life has no meaning.[g]
17 (F) What makes you so concerned
    about us humans?
18 Why do you test us
    from sunrise to sunset?
19 Won't you look away
just long enough
    for me to swallow?
20 Why do you watch us so closely?
    What's it to you, if I sin?
Why am I your target
    and such a heavy burden?
21 Why do you refuse to forgive?
Soon you won't find me,
    because I'll be dead.

Footnotes

  1. 5.5 wealth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.
  2. 6.6 What is more tasteless … egg: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  3. 6.14 and you should help me … God All-Powerful: Or “and if you don't help me, you no longer respect God All-Powerful.”
  4. 6.19 Tema and Sheba: Tema was a region in northwest Arabia, and Sheba was probably a region in southwest Arabia.
  5. 6.21 just … you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
  6. 7.12 sea monster … imprison me: “Sea monster” translates the Hebrew word “Tannin,” which was possibly a sea monster similar to Leviathan (3.8), Rahab (9.13), and Behemoth (40.15). According to 38.8-11, God makes the sea his prisoner by setting its boundaries.
  7. 7.16 my life … meaning: Or “my life will soon be over.”

Bible Gateway Recommends