Job speaks, Eliphaz responds: Job 3-5

Job 3

Job's First Speech

1At last Job spoke, and he cursed the day of his birth. 2He said:
3"Cursed be the day of my birth, and cursed be the night when I was conceived. 4Let that day be turned to darkness. Let it be lost even to God on high, and let it be shrouded in darkness. 5Yes, let the darkness and utter gloom claim it for its own. Let a black cloud overshadow it, and let the darkness terrify it. 6Let that night be blotted off the calendar, never again to be counted among the days of the year, never again to appear among the months. 7Let that night be barren. Let it have no joy. 8Let those who are experts at cursing--those who are ready to rouse the sea monster[a]--curse that day. 9Let its morning stars remain dark. Let it hope for light, but in vain; may it never see the morning light. 10Curse it for its failure to shut my mother's womb, for letting me be born to all this trouble.

11"Why didn't I die at birth as I came from the womb? 12Why did my mother let me live? Why did she nurse me at her breasts? 13For if I had died at birth, I would be at peace now, asleep and at rest. 14I would rest with the world's kings and prime ministers, famous for their great construction projects. 15I would rest with wealthy princes whose palaces were filled with gold and silver. 16Why was I not buried like a stillborn child, like a baby who never lives to see the light? 17For in death the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are at rest. 18Even prisoners are at ease in death, with no guards to curse them. 19Rich and poor are there alike, and the slave is free from his master.

20"Oh, why should light be given to the weary, and life to those in misery? 21They long for death, and it won't come. They search for death more eagerly than for hidden treasure. 22It is a blessed relief when they finally die, when they find the grave. 23Why is life given to those with no future, those destined by God to live in distress? 24I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water. 25What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come to be. 26I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; instead, only trouble comes."



Footnotes:
Job 3:8 Hebrew rouse Leviathan.




Job 4

Eliphaz's First Response to Job

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied to Job:
2"Will you be patient and let me say a word? For who could keep from speaking out?

3"In the past you have encouraged many a troubled soul to trust in God; you have supported those who were weak. 4Your words have strengthened the fallen; you steadied those who wavered. 5But now when trouble strikes, you faint and are broken. 6Does your reverence for God give you no confidence? Shouldn't you believe that God will care for those who are upright?

7"Stop and think! Does the innocent person perish? When has the upright person been destroyed? 8My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same. 9They perish by a breath from God. They vanish in a blast of his anger. 10Though they are fierce young lions, they will all be broken and destroyed. 11The fierce lion will starve, and the cubs of the lioness will be scattered.

12"This truth was given me in secret, as though whispered in my ear. 13It came in a vision at night as others slept. 14Fear gripped me; I trembled and shook with terror. 15A spirit[a] swept past my face. Its wind sent shivers up my spine. 16It stopped, but I couldn't see its shape. There was a form before my eyes, and a hushed voice said, 17`Can a mortal be just and upright before God? Can a person be pure before the Creator?'

18"If God cannot trust his own angels and has charged some of them with folly, 19how much less will he trust those made of clay! Their foundation is dust, and they are crushed as easily as moths. 20They are alive in the morning, but by evening they are dead, gone forever without a trace. 21Their tent collapses; they die in ignorance.



Footnotes:
Job 4:15 Or wind.



Job 5

Eliphaz's Response Continues

1"You may cry for help, but no one listens. You may turn to the angels,[a] but they give you no help. 2Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple. 3From my experience, I know that fools who turn from God may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster. 4Their children are abandoned far from help, with no one to defend them. 5Their harvests are stolen, and their wealth satisfies the thirst of many others, not themselves! 6But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth. 7People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly upward from a fire.
8"My advice to you is this: Go to God and present your case to him. 9For he does great works too marvelous to understand. He performs miracles without number. 10He gives rain for the earth. He sends water for the fields. 11He gives prosperity to the poor and humble, and he takes sufferers to safety. 12He frustrates the plans of the crafty, so their efforts will not succeed. 13He catches those who think they are wise in their own cleverness, so that their cunning schemes are thwarted. 14They grope in the daylight as though they were blind; they see no better in the daytime than at night. 15He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong. He saves them from the clutches of the powerful. 16And so at last the poor have hope, and the fangs of the wicked are broken.

17"But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the chastening of the Almighty when you sin. 18For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal. 19He will rescue you again and again so that no evil can touch you. 20He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war. 21You will be safe from slander and will have no fear of destruction when it comes. 22You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you. 23You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you. 24You will know that your home is kept safe. When you visit your pastures, nothing will be missing. 25Your children will be many; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass! 26You will live to a good old age. You will not be harvested until the proper time!

27"We have found from experience that all this is true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself."



Footnotes:
Job 5:1 Hebrew the holy ones.

Job responds to Eliphaz; Cries out to God: Job 6-7

Job 6

Job's Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

1Then Job spoke again:
2"If my sadness could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales, 3they would be heavier than all the sands of the sea. That is why I spoke so rashly. 4For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows. He has sent his poisoned arrows deep within my spirit. All God's terrors are arrayed against me. 5Don't I have a right to complain? Wild donkeys bray when they find no green grass, and oxen low when they have no food. 6People complain when there is no salt in their food. And how tasteless is the uncooked white of an egg! 7My appetite disappears when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!

8"Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my hope. 9I wish he would crush me. I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me. 10At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One. 11But I do not have the strength to endure. I do not have a goal that encourages me to carry on. 12Do I have strength as hard as stone? Is my body made of bronze? 13No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.

14"One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you have accused me without the slightest fear of the Almighty. 15My brother, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook that overflows its banks in the spring 16when it is swollen with ice and melting snow. 17But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears. The brook vanishes in the heat. 18The caravans turn aside to be refreshed, but there is nothing there to drink, and so they perish in the desert. 19With high hopes, the caravans from Tema and from Sheba stop for water, 20but finding none, their hopes are dashed. 21You, too, have proved to be of no help. You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid. 22But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift? Have I begged you to use any of your wealth on my behalf? 23Have I ever asked you to rescue me from my enemies? Have I asked you to save me from ruthless people?

24"All I want is a reasonable answer--then I will keep quiet. Tell me, what have I done wrong? 25Honest words are painful, but what do your criticisms amount to? 26Do you think your words are convincing when you disregard my cry of desperation? 27You would even send an orphan into slavery[a] or sell a friend. 28Look at me! Would I lie to your face? 29Stop assuming my guilt, for I am righteous. Don't be so unjust. 30Do you think I am lying? Don't I know the difference between right and wrong?



Footnotes:
Job 6:27 Hebrew even gamble over an orphan.



Job 7

1 "Is this not the struggle of all humanity? A person's life is long and hard, like that of a hired hand, 2like a worker who longs for the day to end, like a servant waiting to be paid. 3I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery. 4When I go to bed, I think, `When will it be morning?' But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn. 5My skin is filled with worms and scabs. My flesh breaks open, full of pus.


Job Cries Out to God

6"My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle flying back and forth. They end without hope. 7O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again experience pleasure. 8You see me now, but not for long. Your eyes will be on me, but I will be dead. 9Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back. 10They are gone forever from their home--never to be seen again.
11"I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. I must complain in my bitterness. 12Am I a sea monster that you place a guard on me? 13If I think, `My bed will comfort me, and I will try to forget my misery with sleep,' 14you shatter me with dreams. You terrify me with visions. 15I would rather die of strangulation than go on and on like this. 16I hate my life. I do not want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for these few remaining days.

17"What are mere mortals, that you should make so much of us? 18For you examine us every morning and test us every moment. 19Why won't you leave me alone--even for a moment[a]? 20Have I sinned? What have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why have you made me your target? Am I a burden to you? 21Why not just pardon my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone."



Footnotes:
Job 7:19 Hebrew long enough to swallow my spittle.