Chronological Plan

¹“Man, who is born of woman, Is short-lived and full of turmoil.

²Like a flower he comes out and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.

³You also open Your eyes on him And bring him into judgment with Yourself.

⁴Who can make the clean out of the unclean? No one!

⁵Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And You have set his limits so that he cannot pass.

⁶Look away from him so that he may rest, Until he fulfills his day like a hired worker.

⁷“For there is hope for a tree, When it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And its shoots will not fail.

⁸Though its roots grow old in the ground, And its stump dies in the dry soil,

⁹At the scent of water it will flourish And produce sprigs like a plant.

¹⁰But a man dies and lies prostrate. A person passes away, and where is he?

¹¹As water evaporates from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dried up,

¹²So a man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens no longer exist, He will not awake nor be woken from his sleep.

¹³“Oh that You would hide me in Sheol, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me!

¹⁴If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait Until my relief comes.

¹⁵You will call, and I will answer You; You will long for the work of Your hands.

¹⁶For now You number my steps, You do not observe my sin.

¹⁷My wrongdoing is sealed up in a bag, And You cover over my guilt.

¹⁸“But the falling mountain crumbles away, And the rock moves from its place;

¹⁹Water wears away stones, Its torrents wash away the dust of the earth; So You destroy a man’s hope.

²⁰You forever overpower him and he departs; You change his appearance and send him away.

²¹His sons achieve honor, but he does not know it; Or they become insignificant, and he does not perceive it.

²²However, his body pains him, And his soul mourns for himself.”

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

²“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind?

³Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which do not benefit?

⁴Indeed, you do away with reverence, And hinder meditation before God.

⁵For your wrongdoing teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of the cunning.

⁶Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; And your own lips testify against you.

⁷“Were you the first person to be born, Or were you brought forth before the hills?

⁸Do you hear the secret discussion of God, And limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not?

¹⁰Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Older than your father.

¹¹Are the consolations of God too little for you, Or the word spoken gently to you?

¹²Why does your heart take you away? And why do your eyes wink,

¹³That you can turn your spirit against God And produce such words from your mouth?

¹⁴What is man, that he would be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he would be righteous?

¹⁵Behold, He has no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight;

¹⁶How much less one who is detestable and corrupt: A person who drinks malice like water!

¹⁷“I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare;

¹⁸What wise people have told, And have not concealed from their fathers,

¹⁹To whom alone the land was given, And no stranger passed among them.

²⁰The wicked person writhes in pain all his days, And the years reserved for the ruthless are numbered.

²¹Sounds of terror are in his ears; While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

²²He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword.

²³He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.

²⁴Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,

²⁵Because he has reached out with his hand against God, And is arrogant toward the Almighty.

²⁶He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield.

²⁷For he has covered his face with his fat, And put fat on his waist.

²⁸He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins.

²⁹He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his property will not stretch out on the earth.

³⁰He will not escape from darkness; The flame will dry up his shoot, And he will go away by the breath of His mouth.

³¹Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For his reward will be emptiness.

³²It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green.

³³He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.

³⁴For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.

³⁵They conceive harm and give birth to wrongdoing, And their mind prepares deception.”

¹Then Job responded,

²“I have heard many things like these; Miserable comforters are you all!

³Is there no end to windy words? Or what provokes you that you answer?

⁴I too could speak like you, If only I were in your place. I could compose words against you And shake my head at you.

⁵Or I could strengthen you with my mouth, And the condolence of my lips could lessen your pain.

⁶“If I speak, my pain is not lessened, And if I refrain, what pain leaves me?

⁷But now He has exhausted me; You have laid waste all my group of loved ones.

⁸And you have shriveled me up, It has become a witness; And my infirmity rises up against me, It testifies to my face.

⁹His anger has torn me and hunted me down, He has gnashed at me with His teeth; My enemy glares at me.

¹⁰They have gaped at me with their mouths, They have slapped me on the cheek with contempt; They have massed themselves against me.

¹¹God hands me over to criminals, And tosses me into the hands of the wicked.

¹²I was at ease, but He shattered me, And He has grasped me by my neck and shaken me to pieces; He has also set me up as His target.

¹³His arrows surround me. He splits my kidneys open without mercy; He pours out my bile on the ground.

¹⁴He breaks through me with breach after breach; He runs at me like a warrior.

¹⁵I have sewed sackcloth over my skin, And thrust my horn in the dust.

¹⁶My face is flushed from weeping, And deep darkness is on my eyelids,

¹⁷Although there is no violence in my hands, And my prayer is pure.

¹⁸“Earth, do not cover my blood, And may there be no resting place for my cry.

¹⁹Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, And my advocate is on high.

²⁰My friends are my scoffers; My eye weeps to God,

²¹That one might plead for a man with God As a son of man with his neighbor!

²²For when a few years are past, I shall go the way of no return.