American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Job 5
1
Call now, if there be any that will answer you; and to which of the saints will you turn?
Reference
3
I have seen the foolish taking root: but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4
His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, neither is there any to deliver them.
Reference
5
Whose harvest the hungry eats up, and takes it even out of the thorns, and the robber swallows up their substance.
Reference
6
Although affliction comes not forth of the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground;
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 45:7
8
I would seek to God, and to God would I commit my cause:
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 50:15
Job 22:21
Psalm 37:5
Job 22:27
1 Peter 2:23
2 Timothy 1:12
References God
1 Peter 4:19
Job 8:5
9
Which does great things and unsearchable; marvelous things without number:
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 40:5
Job 9:10
Psalm 72:18
Psalm 86:10
Job 37:5
Romans 11:33
Isaiah 40:28
Psalm 139:18
Job 42:3
12
He disappoints the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
Reference
13
He takes the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the fraudulent is carried headlong.
Reference
15
But he saves the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 35:10
Psalm 10:14
Psalm 10:17
Psalm 140:12
Psalm 107:41
Job 4:10
Salvation
Psalm 109:31
Psalm 72:4
17
Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects: therefore despise not you the chastening of the Almighty:
Reference
20
In famine he shall redeem you from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 33:19
Psalm 37:19
Proverbs 10:3
Genesis 45:7
1 Kings 17:6
Habakkuk 3:17
Psalm 27:3
Matthew 24:6
Redemption
Hosea 13:14
Word
Psalm 144:10
21
You shall be hid from the whip of the tongue: neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes.
Reference
22
At destruction and famine you shall laugh: neither shall you be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
Reference
23
For you shall be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
Reference
24
And you shall know that your tabernacle shall be in peace; and you shall visit your habitation, and shall not sin.
Reference
25
You shall know also that your seed shall be great, and your offspring as the grass of the earth.
Reference
26
You shall come to your grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn comes in in his season.
Reference
Summary of Job 5
Job Chapter 5 continues Eliphaz's first speech and develops his explanation of suffering more clearly. His advice contains many statements that sound wise and comforting when considered by themselves, but the problem is that Eliphaz is applying them directly to Job's situation without knowing the true reason for Job's suffering.
Eliphaz begins by warning about anger, jealousy, and foolishness. He describes a person who may appear to prosper temporarily but whose family and possessions eventually become vulnerable. His basic principle is that destructive behavior eventually produces destructive consequences.
He then makes a broader statement: human beings are born into trouble just as sparks naturally rise from a fire. In other words, suffering is part of human existence. However, Eliphaz does not stop there. He continues to emphasize that people should seek God when difficulties come.
Eliphaz encourages Job to seek God and bring his situation before Him. This is one of the more constructive parts of his advice. Eliphaz recognizes that God is the source of wisdom, power, provision, and protection. He describes God as the One who sends rain, provides for the earth, frustrates the plans of the clever, protects the poor, and brings hope to people who are suffering.
Eliphaz also emphasizes that God can reverse difficult circumstances. God can bring down the proud and lift up the humble. He can frustrate dishonest plans and rescue vulnerable people from powerful enemies. He can turn darkness into hope and danger into safety.
These statements contain important truths about God's power and concern for people. The problem appears when Eliphaz applies his principle of divine justice too rigidly.
The most important section comes when Eliphaz tells Job that the person whom God corrects should not reject God's discipline. He says that God wounds but also heals and that He can rescue people from repeated troubles such as famine, war, violence, and destruction.
The implication is becoming stronger: Job should interpret his suffering as God's correction.
Eliphaz never directly says that Job is a terrible sinner, but his argument increasingly points in that direction. If God disciplines those who do wrong, and if Job is experiencing extraordinary suffering, then Eliphaz believes Job must have something in his life that needs correction.
The reader knows that this conclusion is wrong.
The opening chapters have already established that Job was blameless and upright. His suffering was not presented as punishment for hidden sin. Instead, the suffering became part of a test concerning the nature of Job's faith.
This creates a major conflict between Eliphaz's theology and the reality of Job's situation.
Eliphaz's worldview can be summarized as:
God is just ? righteous people receive God's favor ? wicked people experience trouble ? therefore extraordinary suffering must indicate serious wrongdoing.
The problem is that Job's experience challenges the final step.
Job has experienced extraordinary suffering without the story giving any evidence that he committed extraordinary wrongdoing.
Eliphaz also gives Job an appealing picture of what would happen if he followed his advice. Job would be protected from famine, war, violence, destruction, and danger. His household would be secure, his possessions would remain intact, and his descendants would become numerous. He would live to old age and be gathered to his grave like a mature harvest.
Ironically, this description resembles the life Job had before his suffering began. He already had a secure household, enormous wealth, many children, and a respected position. Eliphaz is essentially describing the blessings Job has just lost.
This makes his advice particularly difficult for Job. Eliphaz is suggesting that if Job simply turns toward God and accepts correction, his prosperity can be restored.
Yet Job knows that he was already devoted to God before the disasters happened.
The chapter therefore highlights an important difference between general wisdom and personal application. Eliphaz's statements about God are often reasonable in a general sense. God does care for the vulnerable. God is powerful. Human beings should seek Him. God can discipline and restore. Human beings are fragile.
But these truths do not automatically explain why a particular person is suffering.
Eliphaz assumes that he understands the connection between Job's suffering and Job's moral condition. He does not.
The chapter ends with Eliphaz confidently telling Job that he and his companions have examined these matters and found them to be true. He encourages Job to listen to their wisdom.
This confidence becomes important later because the friends will repeatedly insist on their understanding of divine justice. Job, however, will continue to challenge their conclusions because his own experience does not fit their simple system.
Historically, the chapter reflects an ancient wisdom tradition in which observations about human behavior, prosperity, suffering, nature, and divine justice were used to explain how life works. Agricultural imagery such as sowing, harvesting, rain, grain, and fields is particularly prominent.
Job Chapter 5 therefore deepens the central conflict of the book. Eliphaz genuinely believes he is helping Job. He points him toward God and describes a powerful and compassionate God who can restore those who suffer. But beneath his words is an assumption that will cause increasing tension: Job's suffering must have a moral explanation, and Job must somehow be responsible for it.
Job's response in the next chapter will challenge that assumption and explain why Eliphaz's advice does not adequately address the reality of his suffering.
Eliphaz begins by warning about anger, jealousy, and foolishness. He describes a person who may appear to prosper temporarily but whose family and possessions eventually become vulnerable. His basic principle is that destructive behavior eventually produces destructive consequences.
He then makes a broader statement: human beings are born into trouble just as sparks naturally rise from a fire. In other words, suffering is part of human existence. However, Eliphaz does not stop there. He continues to emphasize that people should seek God when difficulties come.
Eliphaz encourages Job to seek God and bring his situation before Him. This is one of the more constructive parts of his advice. Eliphaz recognizes that God is the source of wisdom, power, provision, and protection. He describes God as the One who sends rain, provides for the earth, frustrates the plans of the clever, protects the poor, and brings hope to people who are suffering.
Eliphaz also emphasizes that God can reverse difficult circumstances. God can bring down the proud and lift up the humble. He can frustrate dishonest plans and rescue vulnerable people from powerful enemies. He can turn darkness into hope and danger into safety.
These statements contain important truths about God's power and concern for people. The problem appears when Eliphaz applies his principle of divine justice too rigidly.
The most important section comes when Eliphaz tells Job that the person whom God corrects should not reject God's discipline. He says that God wounds but also heals and that He can rescue people from repeated troubles such as famine, war, violence, and destruction.
The implication is becoming stronger: Job should interpret his suffering as God's correction.
Eliphaz never directly says that Job is a terrible sinner, but his argument increasingly points in that direction. If God disciplines those who do wrong, and if Job is experiencing extraordinary suffering, then Eliphaz believes Job must have something in his life that needs correction.
The reader knows that this conclusion is wrong.
The opening chapters have already established that Job was blameless and upright. His suffering was not presented as punishment for hidden sin. Instead, the suffering became part of a test concerning the nature of Job's faith.
This creates a major conflict between Eliphaz's theology and the reality of Job's situation.
Eliphaz's worldview can be summarized as:
God is just ? righteous people receive God's favor ? wicked people experience trouble ? therefore extraordinary suffering must indicate serious wrongdoing.
The problem is that Job's experience challenges the final step.
Job has experienced extraordinary suffering without the story giving any evidence that he committed extraordinary wrongdoing.
Eliphaz also gives Job an appealing picture of what would happen if he followed his advice. Job would be protected from famine, war, violence, destruction, and danger. His household would be secure, his possessions would remain intact, and his descendants would become numerous. He would live to old age and be gathered to his grave like a mature harvest.
Ironically, this description resembles the life Job had before his suffering began. He already had a secure household, enormous wealth, many children, and a respected position. Eliphaz is essentially describing the blessings Job has just lost.
This makes his advice particularly difficult for Job. Eliphaz is suggesting that if Job simply turns toward God and accepts correction, his prosperity can be restored.
Yet Job knows that he was already devoted to God before the disasters happened.
The chapter therefore highlights an important difference between general wisdom and personal application. Eliphaz's statements about God are often reasonable in a general sense. God does care for the vulnerable. God is powerful. Human beings should seek Him. God can discipline and restore. Human beings are fragile.
But these truths do not automatically explain why a particular person is suffering.
Eliphaz assumes that he understands the connection between Job's suffering and Job's moral condition. He does not.
The chapter ends with Eliphaz confidently telling Job that he and his companions have examined these matters and found them to be true. He encourages Job to listen to their wisdom.
This confidence becomes important later because the friends will repeatedly insist on their understanding of divine justice. Job, however, will continue to challenge their conclusions because his own experience does not fit their simple system.
Historically, the chapter reflects an ancient wisdom tradition in which observations about human behavior, prosperity, suffering, nature, and divine justice were used to explain how life works. Agricultural imagery such as sowing, harvesting, rain, grain, and fields is particularly prominent.
Job Chapter 5 therefore deepens the central conflict of the book. Eliphaz genuinely believes he is helping Job. He points him toward God and describes a powerful and compassionate God who can restore those who suffer. But beneath his words is an assumption that will cause increasing tension: Job's suffering must have a moral explanation, and Job must somehow be responsible for it.
Job's response in the next chapter will challenge that assumption and explain why Eliphaz's advice does not adequately address the reality of his suffering.