Eliphaz: Can a Man Be of Use to God?

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

²“Can a man be of use to God?Can even a wise man benefit Him?

³Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous?Does He profit if your ways are blameless?

⁴Is it for your reverence that He rebukes youand enters into judgment against you?

⁵Is not your wickedness great?Are not your iniquities endless?

⁶For you needlessly demanded security from your brothersand deprived the naked of their clothing.

⁷You gave no water to the wearyand withheld food from the famished,

⁸while the land belonged to a mighty man,and a man of honor lived on it.

⁹You sent widows away empty-handed,and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

¹⁰Therefore snares surround you,and sudden peril terrifies you;

¹¹it is so dark you cannot see,and a flood of water covers you.

¹²Is not God as high as the heavens?Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!

¹³Yet you say: ‘What does God know?Does He judge through thick darkness?

¹⁴Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see usas He traverses the vault of heaven.’

¹⁵Will you stay on the ancient paththat wicked men have trod?

¹⁶They were snatched away before their time,and their foundations were swept away by a flood.

¹⁷They said to God, ‘Depart from us.What can the Almighty do to us?’

¹⁸But it was He who filled their houses with good things;so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.

¹⁹The righteous see it and are glad;the innocent mock them:

²⁰‘Surely our foes are destroyed,and fire has consumed their excess.’

²¹Reconcile now and be at peace with Him;thereby good will come to you.

²²Receive instruction from His mouth,and lay up His words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored.If you remove injustice from your tents

²⁴and consign your gold to the dustand the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,

²⁵then the Almighty will be your goldand the finest silver for you.

²⁶Surely then you will delight in the Almightyand lift up your face to God.

²⁷You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,and you will fulfill your vows.

²⁸Your decisions will be carried out,and light will shine on your ways.

²⁹When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’then He will save the lowly.

³⁰He will deliver even one who is not innocent,rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”

Eliphaz: The Innocent Prosper

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

²“If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied?Yet who can keep from speaking?

³Surely you have instructed many,and have strengthened their feeble hands.

⁴Your words have steadied those who stumbled;you have braced the knees that were buckling.

⁵But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary.It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

⁶Is your reverence not your confidence,and the uprightness of your ways your hope?

⁷Consider now, I plead:Who, being innocent, has ever perished?Or where have the upright been destroyed?

⁸As I have observed, those who plow iniquityand those who sow trouble reap the same.

⁹By the breath of God they perish,and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.

¹⁰The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl,yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹The old lion perishes for lack of prey,and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹²Now a word came to me secretly;my ears caught a whisper of it.

¹³In disquieting visions in the night,when deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴fear and trembling came over meand made all my bones shudder.

¹⁵Then a spiritglided past my face,and the hair on my body bristled.

¹⁶It stood still,but I could not discern its appearance;a form loomed before my eyes,and I heard a whispering voice:

¹⁷‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God,or a man more pure than his Maker?

¹⁸If God puts no trust in His servants,and He charges His angels with error,

¹⁹how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,whose foundations are in the dust,who can be crushed like a moth!

²⁰They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;unnoticed, they perish forever.

²¹Are not their tent cords pulled up,so that they die without wisdom?’

David’s Song of Deliverance

¹And David sang this song to the LORD on the day the LORD had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

²He said:“The LORD is my rock,my fortress, and my deliverer.

³My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation.My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior,You save me from violence.

⁴I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;so shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁵For the waves of death engulfed me;the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

⁶The cords of Sheol entangled me;the snares of death confronted me.

⁷In my distress I called upon the LORD;I cried out to my God.And from His temple He heard my voice,and my cry for help reached His ears.

⁸Then the earth shook and quaked;the foundations of the heavenstrembled;they were shaken because He burned with anger.

⁹Smoke rose from His nostrils,and consuming fire came from His mouth;glowing coals blazed forth.

¹⁰He parted the heavens and came downwith dark clouds beneath His feet.

¹¹He mounted a cherub and flew;He soaredon the wings of the wind.

¹²He made darkness a canopy around Him,a gathering of water and thick clouds.

¹³From the brightness of His presencecoals of fireblazed forth.

¹⁴The LORD thundered from heaven;the voice of the Most High resounded.

¹⁵He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁶The channels of the sea appeared,and the foundations of the world were exposedat the rebuke of the LORD,at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

¹⁷He reached down from on high and took hold of me;He drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁸He rescued me from my powerful enemy,from foes too mighty for me.

¹⁹They confronted me in my day of calamity,but the LORD was my support.

²⁰He brought me out into the open;He rescued me because He delighted in me.

²¹The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²²For I have kept the ways of the LORDand have not wickedly departed from my God.

²³For all His ordinances are before me;I have not disregarded His statutes.

²⁴And I have been blameless before Himand kept myself from iniquity.

²⁵So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,according to my cleanness in His sight.

²⁶To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

²⁷to the pure You show Yourself pure,but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁸You save an afflicted people,but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.

²⁹For You, O LORD, are my lamp;the LORD lights up my darkness.

³⁰For in You I can charge an army;with my God I can scale a wall.

³¹As for God, His way is perfect;the word of the LORD is flawless.He is a shield to allwho take refuge in Him.

³²For who is God besides the LORD?And who is the Rock except our God?

³³God is my strong fortress,and He makes my way clear.

³⁴He makes my feet like those of a deerand stations me upon the heights.

³⁵He trains my hands for battle;my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁶You have given me Your shield of salvation,and Your gentleness exalts me.

³⁷You broaden the path beneath meso that my ankles do not give way.

³⁸I pursued my enemies and destroyed them;I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁹I devoured and crushed them so they could not rise;they have fallen under my feet.

⁴⁰You have armed me with strength for battle;You have subdued my foes beneath me.

⁴¹You have made my enemies retreat before me;I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴²They looked, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴³I ground them as the dust of the earth;I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.

⁴⁴You have delivered me from the strife of my people;You have preserved me as the head of nations;a people I had not known shall serve me.

⁴⁵Foreigners cower before me;when they hear me, they obey me.

⁴⁶Foreigners lose heartand come tremblingfrom their strongholds.

⁴⁷The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!And may God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted—

⁴⁸the God who avenges meand brings down nations beneath me,

⁴⁹who frees me from my enemies.You exalt me above my foes;You rescue me from violent men.

⁵⁰Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;I will sing praises to Your name.

⁵¹Great salvation He brings to His king.He shows loving devotion to His anointed,to David and his descendants forever.”

The LORD Is My Rock

¹I love You, O LORD, my strength.

²The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer.My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,my shield, and the horn of my salvation,my stronghold.

³I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;so shall I be saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me;the torrents of chaos overwhelmed me.

⁵The cords of Sheol entangled me;the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the LORD;I cried to my God for help.From His temple He heard my voice,and my cry for His help reached His ears.

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked,and the foundations of the mountains trembled;they were shaken because He burned with anger.

⁸Smoke rose from His nostrils,and consuming fire came from His mouth;glowing coals blazed forth.

⁹He parted the heavens and came downwith dark clouds beneath His feet.

¹⁰He mounted a cherub and flew;He soared on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness His hiding place,and storm clouds a canopy around Him.

¹²From the brightness of His presenceHis clouds advanced—hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The LORD thundered from heaven;the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire.

¹⁴He shot His arrows and scattered the foes;He hurled lightning and routed them.

¹⁵The channels of the sea appeared,and the foundations of the world were exposed,at Your rebuke, O LORD,at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me;He drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy,from foes too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in my day of calamity,but the LORD was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into the open;He rescued me because He delighted in me.

²⁰The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness;He has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the LORDand have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all His ordinances are before me;I have not disregarded His statutes.

²³And I have been blameless before Himand kept myself from iniquity.

²⁴So the LORD has repaid me according to my righteousness,according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

²⁵To the faithful You show Yourself faithful,to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;

²⁶to the pure You show Yourself pure,but to the crooked You show Yourself shrewd.

²⁷For You save an afflicted people,but You humble those with haughty eyes.

²⁸For You, O LORD, light my lamp;my God lights up my darkness.

²⁹For in You I can charge an army,and with my God I can scale a wall.

³⁰As for God, His way is perfect;the word of the LORD is flawless.He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

³¹For who is God besides the LORD?And who is the Rock except our God?

³²It is God who arms me with strengthand makes my way clear.

³³He makes my feet like those of a deerand stations me upon the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle;my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me Your shield of salvation;Your right hand upholds me,and Your gentleness exalts me.

³⁶You broaden the path beneath meso that my ankles do not give way.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them;I did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I crushed them so they could not rise;they have fallen under my feet.

³⁹You have armed me with strength for battle;You have subdued my foes beneath me.

⁴⁰You have made my enemies retreat before me;I destroyed those who hated me.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—to the LORD, but He did not answer.

⁴²I ground them as dust in the face of the wind;I trampled themlike mud in the streets.

⁴³You have delivered me from the strife of the people;You have made me the head of nations;a people I had not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴When they hear me, they obey me;foreigners cower before me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lose heartand come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶The LORD lives, and blessed be my Rock!And may the God of my salvation be exalted—

⁴⁷the God who avenges meand subdues nations beneath me,

⁴⁸who delivers me from my enemies.You exalt me above my foes;You rescue me from violent men.

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations;I will sing praises to Your name.

⁵⁰Great salvation He brings to His king.He shows loving devotion to His anointed,to David and his descendants forever.