Day 234 of 365

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,

²"If someone ventures to talk with you, will you be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking?

³Behold, you have instructed many, you have strengthened the weak hands.

⁴Your words have supported him who was falling, You have made firm the feeble knees.

⁵But now it is come to you, and you faint. It touches you, and you are troubled.

⁶Isn't your piety your confidence? Isn't the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷"Remember, now, whoever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?

⁸According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity, and sow trouble, reap the same.

⁹By the breath of God they perish. By the blast of his anger are they consumed.

¹⁰The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

¹¹The old lion perishes for lack of prey. The cubs of the lioness are scattered abroad.

¹²"Now a thing was secretly brought to me. My ear received a whisper of it.

¹³In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴fear came on me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.

¹⁵Then a spirit passed before my face. The hair of my flesh stood up.

¹⁶It stood still, but I couldn't discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes. Silence, then I heard a voice, saying,

¹⁷'Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?

¹⁸Behold, he puts no trust in his servants. He charges his angels with error.

¹⁹How much more, those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth!

²⁰Between morning and evening they are destroyed. They perish forever without any regarding it.

²¹Isn't their tent cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.'

¹"Call now; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For resentment kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple.

³I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation.

⁴His children are far from safety. They are crushed in the gate. Neither is there any to deliver them,

⁵whose harvest the hungry eats up, and take it even out of the thorns. The snare gapes for their substance.

⁶For affliction doesn't come forth from the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground;

⁷but man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.

⁸"But as for me, I would seek God. I would commit my cause to God,

⁹who does great things that can't be fathomed, marvelous things without number;

¹⁰who gives rain on the earth, and sends waters on the fields;

¹¹so that he sets up on high those who are low, those who mourn are exalted to safety.

¹²He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands can't perform their enterprise.

¹³He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.

¹⁴They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope at noonday as in the night.

¹⁵But he saves from the sword of their mouth, even the needy from the hand of the mighty.

¹⁶So the poor has hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

¹⁷"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

¹⁸For he wounds, and binds up. He injures, and his hands make whole.

¹⁹He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven there shall no evil touch you.

²⁰In famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword.

²¹You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes.

²²At destruction and famine you shall laugh, neither shall you be afraid of the animals of the earth.

²³For you shall be in league with the stones of the field. The animals of the field shall be at peace with you.

²⁴You shall know that your tent is in peace. You shall visit your fold, and shall miss nothing.

²⁵You shall know also that your seed shall be great, Your offspring as the grass of the earth.

²⁶You shall come to your grave in a full age, like a shock of grain comes in its season.

²⁷Look this, we have searched it, so it is. Hear it, and know it for your good."

¹Then Job answered,

²"Oh that my anguish were weighed, and all my calamity laid in the balances!

³For now it would be heavier than the sand of the seas, therefore have my words been rash.

⁴For the arrows of the Almighty are within me. My spirit drinks up their poison. The terrors of God set themselves in array against me.

⁵Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass? Or does the ox low over his fodder?

⁶Can that which has no flavor be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?

⁷My soul refuses to touch them. They are as loathsome food to me.

⁸"Oh that I might have my request, that God would grant the thing that I long for,

⁹even that it would please God to crush me; that he would let loose his hand, and cut me off!

¹⁰Be it still my consolation, yes, let me exult in pain that doesn't spare, that I have not denied the words of the Holy One.

¹¹What is my strength, that I should wait? What is my end, that I should be patient?

¹²Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh of brass?

¹³Isn't it that I have no help in me, That wisdom is driven quite from me?

¹⁴"To him who is ready to faint, kindness should be shown from his friend; even to him who forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

¹⁵My brothers have dealt deceitfully as a brook, as the channel of brooks that pass away;

¹⁶Which are black by reason of the ice, in which the snow hides itself.

¹⁷In the dry season, they vanish. When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

¹⁸The caravans that travel beside them turn aside. They go up into the waste, and perish.

¹⁹The caravans of Tema looked. The companies of Sheba waited for them.

²⁰They were distressed because they were confident. They came there, and were confounded.

²¹For now you are nothing. You see a terror, and are afraid.

²²Did I say, 'Give to me?' or, 'Offer a present for me from your substance?'

²³or, 'Deliver me from the adversary's hand?' or, 'Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?'

²⁴"Teach me, and I will hold my peace. Cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

²⁵How forcible are words of uprightness! But your reproof, what does it reprove?

²⁶Do you intend to reprove words, seeing that the speeches of one who is desperate are as wind?

²⁷Yes, you would even cast lots for the fatherless, and make merchandise of your friend.

²⁸Now therefore be pleased to look at me, for surely I shall not lie to your face.

²⁹Please return. Let there be no injustice. Yes, return again. My cause is righteous.

³⁰Is there injustice on my tongue? Can't my taste discern mischievous things?

¹How lovely are your dwellings, Lord of hosts!

²My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

³Yes, the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, near your altars, Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.

⁴Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are always praising you. Selah.

⁵Blessed are those whose strength is in you; who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage.

⁶Passing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings.

⁷They go from strength to strength. Everyone of them appears before God in Zion.

⁸Lord, God of Hosts, hear my prayer. Listen, God of Jacob. Selah.

⁹Behold, God our shield, look at the face of your anointed.

¹⁰For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

¹¹For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.

¹²Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

¹Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife.

²A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who causes shame, and shall have a part in the inheritance among the brothers.

³The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts.

⁴An evildoer heeds wicked lips. A liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

⁵Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.

⁶Children's children are the crown of old men; the glory of children are their parents.

⁷Arrogant speech isn't fitting for a fool, much less do lying lips fit a prince.

⁸A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹He who covers an offense promotes love; but he who repeats a matter separates best friends.

¹⁰A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred lashes into a fool.

¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.

¹²Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

¹⁶Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, seeing he has no understanding?

¹⁷A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹He who loves disobedience loves strife. One who builds a high gate seeks destruction.

²⁰One who has a perverse heart doesn't find prosperity, and one who has a deceitful tongue falls into trouble.

²¹He who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy.

²²A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

²³A wicked man receives a bribe in secret, to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴Wisdom is before the face of one who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son brings grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶Also to punish the righteous is not good, nor to flog officials for their integrity.

²⁷He who spares his words has knowledge. He who is even tempered is a man of understanding.

²⁸Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise. When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning.