Turn to God and Be Corrected
Eliphaz urges Job to take his case to God, who lifts the lowly and traps the crafty. He calls the suffering discipline to be welcomed, and promises rescue from famine, war, and slander, and a ripe old age. Confident counsel about a case he misreads.
5 1"Call out now—is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? 2For anger kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple. 3I myself have seen a fool taking root, but suddenly I cursed his dwelling. 4His children are far from safety; they are crushed in court, with no one to rescue them. 5The hungry eat his harvest, taking it even from among the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth. 6For affliction does not come from the dust, nor does trouble sprout from the ground. 7But man is born to trouble as surely as the sparks fly upward.
8"As for me, I would seek God, and to God I would commit my cause. 9He does great things that cannot be fathomed, wonders without number. 10He gives rain on the face of the earth and sends water on the fields. 11He sets the lowly on high, and those who mourn are lifted to safety. 12He frustrates the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. 13He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the cunning are swept away. 14They meet darkness in the daytime and grope at noon as if it were night. 15But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. 16So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.
17"How blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. a a v17 These words are Eliphaz's — not the Father's verdict on Job. At 42:7 the Father rebukes Eliphaz for misrepresenting him; what sounds like settled wisdom is being weaponized to imply Job's suffering must prove hidden sin. 18For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal. 19From six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven no harm will touch you. 20In famine he will redeem you from death, and in war from the power of the sword. 21You will be hidden from the lash of the tongue, and you will not fear destruction when it comes. 22At destruction and famine you will laugh, and you will not fear the wild beasts of the earth. 23For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field, and the wild beasts of the field will be at peace with you. 24You will know that your tent is secure; you will inspect your fold and find nothing missing. 25You will know that your children will be many, and your descendants like the grass of the earth. 26You will come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered in its season.
27"Yes, this we have searched out, and it is true. Hear it, and know it for yourself."
