Eliphaz Continues: God Blesses those Who Seek Him
Call now — is there anyone answering you? And to which of the holy ones will you turn?
For vexation kills the fool, and jealousy puts the simple to death.
I myself have seen a fool taking root, and I cursed his homestead suddenly.
His sons are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer.
Whose harvest the hungry eats, and takes it even out of the thorns; and the thirsty pant after their wealth.
For iniquity does not come out of the dust, and trouble does not sprout from the ground.
For man is born to trouble, and the sons of flame fly upward.
But I — I would seek out God, and to God I would set my case:
who does great things beyond searching out, wonders beyond number;
who gives rain on the face of the earth, and sends water on the face of the open fields;
to set the low on high, and the mourning are lifted to safety.
He frustrates the schemes of the crafty, and their hands do not accomplish sound wisdom.
He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the twisted is rushed headlong.
By day they meet with darkness, and as at night they grope at noon.
And he saves from the sword out of their mouth, and the needy from the hand of the strong.
And there is hope for the poor, and injustice shuts her mouth.
Look, happy is the mortal whom God reproves; so do not reject the discipline of the Almighty.
For he causes pain, and he binds up; he wounds, and his hands heal.
In six troubles he will deliver you, and in seven no evil will touch you.
In famine he will ransom you from death, and in war from the hands of the sword.
You will be hidden from the whip of the tongue, and you will not fear destruction when it comes.
At destruction and at famine you will laugh, and you will not fear the beasts of the earth.
For with the stones of the field is your covenant, and the beast of the field is at peace with you.
And you will know that your tent is at peace; and you will look over your homestead and miss nothing.
And you will know that your seed is many, and your offspring like the grass of the earth.
You will come to the grave in full vigor, as a shock of grain goes up in its season.
Look, this we have searched out — so it is. Hear it, and know it for yourself.