Eliphaz Continues: God Blesses those Who Seek Him

1“ Call out, please. Is there one answering you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

2For indignation kills the foolish,

and jealousy kills the simple.

3I have seen a fool taking root,

and suddenly I cursed his abode.

4His sons are far from safety;

indeed they are crushed in the gate, and there is none rescuing;

5whose harvest the hungry one devours,

even from among the thorns he takes it,

and the thirsty one pants after their wealth.†

6For trouble does not come forth from the dust,

nor does toil spring up from the ground.

7For man is born into toil,

and as the sons of the flame soar to fly.

8But as for me, I would seek for God,

and unto God I would commit my cause—

9the One doing great things, and there is no searching out,

wonders until there is no numbering.

10The One giving rain upon the face of the earth,

and sending waters upon the face of the outside,

11to set the lowly ones on high,

and those mourning are high in safety.

12He is breaking the plots of the crafty,

and their hands cannot execute wisdom.

13He is catching the wise in their craftiness,†

and the counsel of those being deceptive is hurried.

14By day they encounter darkness,

and they grope about at midday as at night.

15And He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth,

and from the hand of the mighty.

16And there is hope for the poor,

and injustice shuts its mouth.

17Behold, blessed is the man whom God reproves,

and the discipline of Shaddai† you should not despise.

18For He brings pain, and binds up;

he wounds, and his hands heal.

19In six distresses he will rescue you,

and in seven, evil shall not touch you.

20In famine he will redeem you from death,

and in war from the hands of the sword.

21From the scourge of the tongue you will be hidden,

and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes.

22At destruction and famine you will laugh,

and of the beasts of the earth you shall not be afraid.

23For your covenant will be with the stones of the field,

and the beasts of the field will be at peace with you.

24And you will know that your tent is at peace,

and you shall visit your abode and not miss.

25And you will know that your seed is numerous,

and your offspring like the grass of the earth.

26You shall come in strength to the grave,

like the lifting of a sheaf in its time.

27Behold this—we have searched it out, and it is so;

hear it, and you shall know it for yourself.”