First Cycle of Speeches
Job 4 – 14
Job 4 – 14
O U T L I N E
Eliphaz Speaks
Job 4 – 5
Job 4 – 5
Introductory Remarks (4:1-6)
CHAPTER 4
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2 If a word were essayed to thee, wouldest thou be grieved? But who can refrain from speaking? 3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands; 4 Thy words have upholden him that was stumbling, and thou hast braced up the bending knees: 5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou grievest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6 Hath not thy piety been thy confidence, and the perfection of thy ways thy hope?
Eliphaz’s View: the Innocent Don’t Suffer, the Wicked Do (4:7-11)
7 Remember, I pray thee, who that was innocent has perished? and where were the upright cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, they that plough iniquity and sow mischief, reap the same. 9 By the breath of +God they perish, and by the blast of his nostrils are they consumed. 10 The roar 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.
In Support of His View: Eliphaz Appeals to a Vision (4:12-21)
12 Now to me a word was secretly brought, and mine ear received a whisper thereof. 13 In thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men: — 14 Fear came on me, and trembling, and made all my bones to shake; 15 And a spirit passed before my face — the hair of my flesh stood up — 16 It stood still; I could not discern the appearance thereof: a form was before mine eyes; I heard a slight murmur and a voice: 17 Shall mortal man be more just than +God? Shall a man be purer than his Maker? 18 Lo, he trusteth not 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 as the moth! 20 From morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever. 21 Is not their tent-cord torn away in them? they die, and without wisdom.
Eliphaz Warns Job (5:1-7)
CHAPTER 5
1 Call, I pray thee! Is there any that answereth thee? and to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn? 2 For vexation killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the simple. 3 I myself saw the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4 His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer: 5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh even out of the thorns; and the snare gapeth for his substance. 6 For evil cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 7 For man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards.
Eliphaz Directs Job (5:8-16)
8 But as for me I will seek unto GOD, and unto God commit my cause; 9 Who doeth great things and unsearchable, marvellous things without number; 10 Who giveth rain on the face of the earth, and sendeth waters on the face of the fields; 11 Setting up on high those that are low; and mourners are exalted to prosperity. 12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, and their hands carry not out the enterprise. 13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; and the counsel of the wily is carried headlong: 14 They meet with darkness in a the daytime, and grope at midday as in the night. 15 And he saveth the needy from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. 16 So the poor hath what he hopeth for, and unrighteousness stoppeth her mouth.
Job Reminded of God’s Blessings on Those Who Accept His Chastening (5:17-27)
17 Behold, happy is the man whom +God correcteth; therefore despise not 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, and 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 hidden from the scourge of the tongue; and thou shalt not be afraid of destruction when it cometh. 22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh, and of the beasts of the earth thou shalt not be afraid. 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 wilt survey thy fold, and miss nothing. 25 And thou shalt know that thy seed is numerous, and thine offspring as the herb of the earth. 26 Thou shalt come to the grave in a ripe age, as a shock of corn is brought in in its season. 27 Behold this, we have searched it out, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thyself.