What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:

He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.

A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.

He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ²If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? ³Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. ⁴Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. ⁵But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. ⁶Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? ⁷Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? ⁸Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. ⁹By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. ¹⁰The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. ¹¹The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad. ¹²Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. ¹³In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, ¹⁴Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. ¹⁵Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: ¹⁶It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, ¹⁷Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? ¹⁸Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: ¹⁹How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? ²⁰They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it. ²¹Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

¹Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn? ²For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. ³I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation. ⁴His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them. ⁵Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance. ⁶Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; ⁷Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. ⁸I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: ⁹Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: ¹⁰Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: ¹¹To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety. ¹²He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. ¹³He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong. ¹⁴They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope in the noonday as in the night. ¹⁵But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty. ¹⁶So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth. ¹⁷Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: ¹⁸For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. ¹⁹He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. ²⁰In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword. ²¹Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh. ²²At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth. ²³For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. ²⁴And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin. ²⁵Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth. ²⁶Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season. ²⁷Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.

¹Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, ²Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? ³Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? ⁴Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. ⁵For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. ⁶Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee. ⁷Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? ⁸Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? ⁹What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? ¹⁰With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. ¹¹Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? ¹²Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, ¹³That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? ¹⁴What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? ¹⁵Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. ¹⁶How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? ¹⁷I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; ¹⁸Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: ¹⁹Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. ²⁰The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. ²¹A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. ²²He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword. ²³He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. ²⁴Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. ²⁵For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty. ²⁶He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: ²⁷Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. ²⁸And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps. ²⁹He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. ³⁰He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. ³¹Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. ³²It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green. ³³He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. ³⁴For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. ³⁵They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, ²Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? ³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect? ⁴Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment? ⁵Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? ⁶For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. ⁷Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. ⁸But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. ⁹Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. ¹⁰Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; ¹¹Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee. ¹²Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! ¹³And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? ¹⁴Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. ¹⁵Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? ¹⁶Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: ¹⁷Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them? ¹⁸Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. ¹⁹The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn. ²⁰Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. ²¹Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. ²²Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. ²³If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. ²⁴Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. ²⁵Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. ²⁶For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. ²⁷Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. ²⁸Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. ²⁹When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. ³⁰He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.