1 Call out! Will anyone answer you?
Which of the holy ones c will you turn to?
2 For anger kills a fool,
and jealousy slays the gullible. d
3 I have seen a fool taking root,
but I immediately pronounced a curse on his home.
4 His children are far from safety.
They are crushed at the city gate, e
with no one to rescue them.
5 The hungry consume his harvest,
even taking it out of the thorns.
The thirsty pant for his children’s wealth.
6 For distress does not grow out of the soil,
and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
7 But humans are born for trouble f
as surely as sparks fly upward.
8 However, if I were you, I would appeal to God
and would present my case to him. g
9 He does great h and unsearchable things,
wonders without number. i
10 He gives rain to the earth
and sends water to the fields. j
11 He sets the lowly on high,
and mourners are lifted to safety. k
12 He frustrates the schemes of the crafty
so that they achieve no success.
13 He traps the wise in their craftiness
so that the plans of the deceptive
are quickly brought to an end. l
14 They encounter darkness by day,
and they grope at noon
as if it were night. m
15 He saves the needy from their sharp words ,n
and from the clutches of the powerful.
16 So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts its mouth. o
17 See how happy is the person whom God corrects;
so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds but he also bandages;
he strikes, but his hands also heal. p
19 He will rescue you from six calamities;
no harm will touch you in seven.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in battle, from the power of the sword. q
21 You will be safe from slander
and not fear destruction when it comes. r
22 You will laugh at destruction and hunger
and not fear the land’s wild creatures.
23 For you will have a covenant with the stones of the field,
and the wild animals will be at peace with you. s
24 You will know that your tent is secure, t
and nothing will be missing when you inspect your home.
25 You will also know that your offspring will be many
and your descendants like the grass of the earth.
26 You will approach the grave u in full vigor, v
as a stack of sheaves is gathered in its season.
27 We have investigated this, and it is true!
Hear it and understand it for yourself.
5:1–2. In Jb 5, Eliphaz continues his first speech. He sticks to the retribution principle, arguing that Job’s sin must be genuine because it has brought God’s intense punishment upon him. In the larger context of the book, much of what Eliphaz says is highly ironic (e.g., 5:26). He often speaks more truth than he knows.
5:3–7. Eliphaz’s description of the fool in 5:3–7 is clearly directed at Job personally. Though Eliphaz began his speech with sensitivity toward Job, by this point his language has become critical and even hurtful. In fact, his insensitive references to Job’s children in verses 4 and 25 must feel like daggers to Job’s heart. His reference to the vulnerable children of the fool (5:4) makes the death of Job’s children (1:19) Job’s own fault.
5:8. Eliphaz speaks of himself, but he clearly intends to instruct Job with these words. According to Eliphaz, Job’s only hope is to seek God, so that God will either grant him mercy or make known what offense Job has committed. Later in the book, Job places his legal case in God’s hands (31:35), not confessing his sins but instead calling on God to vindicate his innocence (27:5–6; 31:6). The Lord’s judgment in 42:7–8 will exonerate Job, in contrast to the charges raised against him by Eliphaz and the other friends.
5:9–16. By praising the incomprehensibility of God (5:9), Eliphaz actually undercuts his conclusion based on observation (4:8). That God’s ways are beyond human comprehension will become more evident when God speaks in chapters 38–41. Eliphaz has good theology but does not apply it properly to Job’s situation.
5:17–19. Eliphaz now changes from a lecturer to a counselor, speaking directly to Job. Using the standard wisdom phrase “happy is the person” (e.g., Ps 1:1), he urges Job to accept divine discipline, for, as Pr 3:11–12 teaches (cf. Heb 12:5–11), discipline is an expression of God’s love and a means for growth (5:17). However, to accept correction Job will have to admit that he has sinned, which he does not believe. This is the first of thirty-one occurrences in Job of the divine title Shaddai (“Almighty”), which is used later to speak of God’s just rule over humans (8:3–6) and transcendent power (37:23).
5:24–27. In 4:21 and 18:6 the tent is a picture of human vulnerability (5:24). Eliphaz assures Job that if he submits to God’s correction, then he will regain the secure prosperity of his former life (5:25–26). But by referring to Job’s lost possessions and dead children, Eliphaz is untactful. Ironically, the epilogue will describe Job in similar terms as the Lord blesses him with a long and good life (42:12–17). But that blessing will not come because Job confesses his supposed sins, as Eliphaz insists is necessary.