New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Job 5
1
Eliphaz continued, "Call out if you want to, Job. But who will answer you? Which one of the holy angels will you turn to?
Reference
3
I saw that foolish people were having success. But suddenly a curse came down on their houses.
4
Their children aren't safe at all. They lose their case in court. No one speaks up for them.
Reference
5
Hungry people eat up the crops of those who are foolish. They even take the food that grows among thorns. Thirsty people long for the wealth of the foolish.
Reference
6
Hard times don't just grow out of the soil. Trouble doesn't jump out of the ground.
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Parallel theme
Isaiah 45:7
8
"If I were you, I'd make my appeal to God. I'd bring my case to be judged by him.
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
He does wonderful things that can't be understood. He does miracles that can't even be counted.
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
11
He lifts up those who are lowly in spirit. He lifts up those who are sad. He keeps them safe.
Reference
12
He stops those who are tricky from doing what they plan to do. The work of their hands doesn't succeed.
Reference
13
Some people think they are so wise. But God catches them in their own tricks. He sweeps away the evil plans of sinful people.
Reference
14
Darkness covers them in the daytime. At noon they feel their way around as if it were night.
Reference
15
God saves needy people from the cutting words of their enemies. He saves them from their powerful hands.
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
16
So those who are poor have hope. And God shuts the mouths of people who don't treat others fairly.
Reference
18
He wounds. But he also bandages up those he wounds. He harms. But his hands also heal those he harms.
Reference
19
From six troubles he will save you. Even if you are in trouble seven times, no harm will come to you.
Reference
20
When there isn't enough food, God will keep you from dying. When you go into battle, he won't let a sword strike you down.
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
He will keep you safe from words that can hurt you. You won't need to be afraid when everything is being destroyed.
Reference
22
You will laugh when things are being destroyed. You will enjoy life even when there isn't enough food. You won't be afraid of wild animals.
Reference
23
You will make a covenant with the stones in the fields. They won't keep your crops from growing. Even wild animals will be at peace with you.
Reference
24
You will know that the tent you live in is secure. You will check out your property. You will see that nothing is missing.
Reference
25
You can be sure you will have a lot of children. They will be as many as the blades of grass on the earth.
Reference
26
You will go down to the grave while you are still very strong. You will be like a crop that is gathered at the right time.
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.