Eliphaz: appeal to God
Call if you will, but who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? Resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple. I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly his house was cursed. His children are far from safety, crushed in court without a defender. The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from among thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth. For hardship does not spring from the soil, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. But if I were you, I would appeal to God; I would lay my cause before him. He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. He provides rain for the earth; he sends water on the countryside. The lowly he sets on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away. Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night. He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful. So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal. From six calamities he will rescue you; in seven no harm will touch you. In famine he will deliver you from death, and in battle from the stroke of the sword. You will be protected from the lash of the tongue, and need not fear when destruction comes. You will laugh at destruction and famine, and need not fear the wild animals. For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild animals will be at peace with you. You will know that your tent is secure; you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing. You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth. You will come to the grave in full vigour, like sheaves gathered in season. We have examined this, and it is true. So hear it and apply it to yourself.
Call if you will, but who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
Resentment kills a fool,
and envy slays the simple.
For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
I myself have seen a fool taking root,
but suddenly his house was cursed.
I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
His children are far from safety,
crushed in court without a defender.
His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
The hungry consume his harvest,
taking it even from among thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
For hardship does not spring from the soil,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground.
Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
Yet man is born to trouble
as surely as sparks fly upward.
Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
But if I were you, I would appeal to God;
I would lay my cause before him.
I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed,
miracles that cannot be counted.
Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
He provides rain for the earth;
he sends water on the countryside.
Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
The lowly he sets on high,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
He thwarts the plans of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
He catches the wise in their craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are swept away.
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
Darkness comes upon them in the daytime;
at noon they grope as in the night.
They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth;
he saves them from the clutches of the powerful.
But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth.
So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
Blessed is the one whom God corrects;
so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.
Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
For he wounds, but he also binds up;
he injures, but his hands also heal.
For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
From six calamities he will rescue you;
in seven no harm will touch you.
He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
In famine he will deliver you from death,
and in battle from the stroke of the sword.
In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
You will be protected from the lash of the tongue,
and need not fear when destruction comes.
Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
You will laugh at destruction and famine,
and need not fear the wild animals.
At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you.
For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
You will know that your tent is secure;
you will take stock of your property and find nothing missing.
And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
You will know that your children will be many,
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
You will come to the grave in full vigour,
like sheaves gathered in season.
Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
We have examined this, and it is true.
So hear it and apply it to yourself.
Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.