Job 5-8 - Prayer Tents

Job 5

Eliphaz’s Response Continues

5"Cry for help, but will anyone answer you? Which of the angels will help you?H7121H3426H6030H6918H6437 2Surely resentment destroys the fool, and jealousy kills the simple.H3708H2026H191H7068H4191H6601 3I have seen that fools may be successful for the moment, but then comes sudden disaster.H7200H191H8327H6597H5344H5116 4Their children are abandoned far from help; they are crushed in court with no one to defend them.H1121H7368H3468H1792H8179H5337 5The hungry devour their harvest, even when it is guarded by brambles. The thirsty pant after their wealth.H7105H7457H398H3947H413H6791H6782H7602H2428 6But evil does not spring from the soil, and trouble does not sprout from the earth.H205H3318H6083H5999H6779H127 7People are born for trouble as readily as sparks fly up from a fire.H120H3205H5999H1121H7565H5774H1361 8"If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him.H199H1875H410H430H7760H1700 9He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles.H6213H1419H369H2714H6381H4557 10He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields.H5414H4306H6440H776H7971H4325H6440H2351 11He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer.H7760H4791H8217H6937H7682H3468 12He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed.H6565H4284H6175H3027H6213H8454 13He traps the wise in their own cleverness so their cunning schemes are thwarted.H3920H2450H6193H6098H6617H4116 14They find it is dark in the daytime, and they grope at noon as if it were night.H6298H2822H3119H4959H6672H3915 15He rescues the poor from the cutting words of the strong, and rescues them from the clutches of the powerful.H3467H34H2719H6310H3027H2389 16And so at last the poor have hope, and the snapping jaws of the wicked are shut.H1800H8615H5766H7092H6310 17"But consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin.H835H582H433H3198H3988H4148H7706 18For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal.H3510H2280H4272H3027H7495 19From six disasters he will rescue you; even in the seventh, he will keep you from evil.H5337H8337H6869H7651H7451H5060 20He will save you from death in time of famine, from the power of the sword in time of war.H7458H6299H4194H4421H3027H2719 21You will be safe from slander and have no fear when destruction comes.H2244H7752H3956H3372H7701H935 22You will laugh at destruction and famine; wild animals will not terrify you.H7701H3720H7832H3372H2416H776 23You will be at peace with the stones of the field, and its wild animals will be at peace with you.H1285H68H7704H2416H7704H7999 24You will know that your home is safe. When you survey your possessions, nothing will be missing.H3045H168H7965H6485H5116H2398 25You will have many children; your descendants will be as plentiful as grass!H3045H2233H7227H6631H6212H776 26You will go to the grave at a ripe old age, like a sheaf of grain harvested at the proper time!H935H6913H3624H1430H5927H6256 27"We have studied life and found all this to be true. Listen to my counsel, and apply it to yourself."H2713H8085H3045

Job 6

Job’s Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz

6Then Job spoke again.H347H6030H5592"If my misery could be weighed and my troubles be put on the scales,H3863H3708H8254H8254H1942H1962H5375H3976H31623they would outweigh all the sands of the sea. That is why I spoke impulsively.H3513H2344H3220H1697H38864For the Almighty has struck me down with his arrows. Their poison infects my spirit. God's terrors are lined up against me.H2671H7706H5978H2534H8354H7307H1161H433H61865Don't I have a right to complain? Don't wild donkeys bray when they find no grass, and oxen bellow when they have no food?H6501H5101H1877H1600H7794H10986Don't people complain about unsalted food? Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg?H8602H398H4417H3426H2940H7388H24957My appetite disappears when I look at it; I gag at the thought of eating it!H5315H3985H5060H1741H38998"Oh, that I might have my request, that God would grant my desire.H935H7596H433H5414H86159I wish he would crush me. I wish he would reach out his hand and kill me.H2974H433H1792H5425H3027H121410At least I can take comfort in this: Despite the pain, I have not denied the words of the Holy One.H5165H5539H2427H2550H3582H561H691811But I don't have the strength to endure. I have nothing to live for.H3581H3176H7093H748H531512Do I have the strength of a stone? Is my body made of bronze?H3581H3581H68H1320H515313No, I am utterly helpless, without any chance of success.H5833H8454H508014"One should be kind to a fainting friend, but you accuse me without any fear of the Almighty.H4523H2617H7453H5800H3374H770615My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook that overflows its banks in the springH251H898H5158H650H5158H567416when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.H6937H7140H7950H595617But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears. The brook vanishes in the heat.H6256H2215H6789H2527H1846H472518The caravans turn aside to be refreshed, but there is nothing to drink, so they die.H734H1870H3943H5927H8414H619The caravans from Tema search for this water; the travelers from Sheba hope to find it.H734H8485H5027H1979H7614H696020They count on it but are disappointed. When they arrive, their hopes are dashed.H954H982H935H265921You, too, have given no help. You have seen my calamity, and you are afraid.H7200H2866H337222But why? Have I ever asked you for a gift? Have I begged for anything of yours for myself?H559H3051H7809H358123Have I asked you to rescue me from my enemies, or to save me from ruthless people?H4422H6862H3027H6299H3027H618424Teach me, and I will keep quiet. Show me what I have done wrong.H3384H2790H995H768625Honest words can be painful, but what do your criticisms amount to?H4834H3476H561H3198H319826Do you think your words are convincing when you disregard my cry of desperation?H2803H3198H4405H561H2976H730727You would even send an orphan into slavery or sell a friend.H5307H3490H3738H745328Look at me! Would I lie to your face?H2974H6437H6440H357629Stop assuming my guilt, for I have done no wrong.H7725H5766H7725H666430Do you think I am lying? Don't I know the difference between right and wrong?H3426H5766H3956H2441H995H1942

Job 7

7"Is not all human life a struggle? Our lives are like that of a hired hand,H6635H582H776H3117H3117H79162like a worker who longs for the shade, like a servant waiting to be paid.H5650H7602H6738H7916H6960H64673I, too, have been assigned months of futility, long and weary nights of misery.H5157H3391H7723H5999H3915H44874Lying in bed, I think, 'When will it be morning?' But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn.H7901H559H6965H6153H4059H7646H5076H53995My body is covered with maggots and scabs. My skin breaks open, oozing with pus.H1320H3847H7415H1487H6083H5785H7280H3988

Job Cries Out to God

6"My days fly faster than a weaver's shuttle. They end without hope.H3117H7043H708H3615H657H86157O God, remember that my life is but a breath, and I will never again feel happiness.H2142H2416H7307H5869H7725H7200H28968You see me now, but not for long. You will look for me, but I will be gone.H5869H7210H7789H58699Just as a cloud dissipates and vanishes, those who die will not come back.H6051H3615H3212H3381H7585H592710They are gone forever from their home—never to be seen again.H7725H1004H4725H523411"I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain.H2820H6310H1696H6862H7307H7878H4751H531512Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard?H3220H8577H7760H492913I think, 'My bed will comfort me, and sleep will ease my misery,'H559H6210H5162H4904H5375H787914but then you shatter me with dreams and terrify me with visions.H2865H2472H1204H238415I would rather be strangled—rather die than suffer like this.H5315H977H4267H4194H610616I hate my life and don't want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.H3988H2421H5769H2308H3117H189217"What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often?H582H1431H7896H382018For you examine us every morning and test us every moment.H6485H1242H974H728119Why won't you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow!H4100H8159H7503H1104H753620If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you?H2398H6466H5341H120H7760H4645H485321Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone."H5375H6588H5674H5771H7901H6083H7836

Job 8

Bildad’s First Response to Job

8Then Bildad the Shuhite replied to Job.H6030H1085H7747H5592"How long will you go on like this? You sound like a blustering wind.H575H5704H4448H561H6310H3524H73073Does God twist justice? Does the Almighty twist what is right?H410H5791H4941H7706H5791H66644Your children must have sinned against him, so their punishment was well deserved.H1121H2398H7971H3027H65885But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty,H7836H410H7836H2603H77066and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home.H2134H3477H5782H5116H6664H79997And though you started with little, you will end with much.H7225H4705H319H3966H76858"Just ask the previous generation. Pay attention to the experience of our ancestors.H7592H7223H7223H1755H3559H2714H19For we were born but yesterday and know nothing. Our days on earth are as fleeting as a shadow.H8543H3045H3117H776H673810But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you the wisdom of old.H3384H559H3318H4405H382011"Can papyrus reeds grow tall without a marsh? Can marsh grass flourish without water?H1573H1342H1207H7685H260H7685H1097H432512While they are still flowering, not ready to be cut, they begin to wither more quickly than grass.H3H6998H3001H6440H268213The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate.H734H7911H410H2611H8615H614Their confidence hangs by a thread. They are leaning on a spider's web.H3689H6990H4009H5908H100415They cling to their home for security, but it won't last. They try to hold it tight, but it will not endure.H8172H1004H5975H2388H696516The godless seem like a lush plant growing in the sunshine, its branches spreading across the garden.H7373H6440H8121H3127H3318H159317Its roots grow down through a pile of stones; it takes hold on a bed of rocks.H8328H5440H1530H2372H1004H6818But when it is uprooted, it's as though it never existed!H1104H4725H3584H720019That's the end of its life, and others spring up from the earth to replace it.H4885H1870H6083H312H677920"But look, God will not reject a person of integrity, nor will he lend a hand to the wicked.H410H3988H8535H2388H3027H748921He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.H4390H6310H7814H8193H864322Those who hate you will be clothed with shame, and the home of the wicked will be destroyed."H8130H3847H1322H168H7563H369