Job 5

Eliphaz proceeds in his charge, and exhorts Job to acknowledge his sins.

1 Therefore call, if there are any who will respond to you, and turn to one or another of the saints. 2 Truly, anger condemns the foolish to death, and envy kills the petty. 3 I have seen a fool with a strong root, and I have cursed his excellence without hesitation. 4 His sons will be far from prosperity and will be crushed at the gate, and there will be none who can rescue them. ^{▼▼5:4The expression ‘crushed at the gate’ may refer to an unfortunate outcome when they are being judged in court, for the ancient equivalent of the court case took place at the gates of the city, where the public could take notice of the event.(Conte)} 5 Their harvest, the starving will eat. The armed man will rob him, and the thirsty will drink his resources. 6 Nothing on earth occurs without a reason, and sorrow does not rise from the earth. 7 Man is born to labor, and the bird to fly. 8 Therefore, because of this, I will beg the Lord, and place my eloquence before God. 9 He does great and unfathomable and miraculous things without number. 10 He gives rain over the face of the earth and irrigates all things with the waters. 11 He places the humble on high and encourages the grieving towards health. 12 He dispels the thoughts of the spiteful, lest their hands be able to complete what they had begun. 13 He catches the wise in their cleverness and dissipates the counsel of the perverse. 14 They will encounter darkness in the daytime, and they will grope at midday just as in the night. ^{▼▼5:14This verse refers to the three hours of darkness when Jesus was on the Cross. An eschatolotical interpreation, referring to the Three Days of Darkness is also possible.(Conte)} 15 Thereafter, he will act to save the needy from the sword of their mouth, and the poor from the hand of the violent. 16 And there will be hope for those in need, for iniquity will diminish its speech. 17 Blessed is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not reject the chastisement of the Lord. 18 For he wounds and he cures; he strikes and his hands will heal. 19 He will deliver you into six tribulations, and in the seventh, evil will not touch you. ^{▼▼5:19 six tribulations: could also be translated as ‘six years of tribulation.’ The translation ‘six years’ is a loose translation which favors the meaning of the passage over the literal wording. The six years of tribulation refers to the six plus years of the Antichrist’s reign. In the seventh year of the Antichrist’s reign, he will be defeated; he will not complete the seventh year of his reign. (Compare this translation to the translation, in the book of Daniel, where the text says seventy groups of seven, but the usual translation is seventy weeks of years.)(Conte)} 20 During famine, he will rescue you from death, and during war, from the hand of the sword. 21 You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, and you will not fear calamity when it arrives. 22 In desolation and in famine, you will laugh, and you will not dread the beasts of the earth. 23 For you are in harmony with the stones of the land, and the beasts of the earth will make peace with you. 24 And you will know that your home has peace, and, concerning your appearance, you will not sin. 25 Likewise, you will know that your offspring will be manifold and your progeny will be like the grass of the earth. 26 You will enter the grave with abundance, just as a crop of wheat is gathered in its time. 27 Behold, this is just as we have found it, which you have heard; walk it through your mind.