Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:A wise man wouldn't answer with such empty talk!You are nothing but a windbag.The wise don't engage in empty chatter.What good are such words?Have you no fear of God, no reverence for Him?Your sins are telling your mouth what to say.Your words are based on clever deception.Your own mouth condemns you, not I.Your own lips testify against you.Were you the first pers...  Read More

"How frail is humanity!How short is life, how full of trouble!We blossom like a flower and then wither.Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.Must you keep an eye on such a frail creature and demand an accounting from me?Who can bring purity out of an impure person? No one!You have decided the length of our lives.You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.So l...  Read More

Look, I have seen all this with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, and now I understand.I know as much as you do. You are no better than I am.As for me, I would speak directly to the Almighty.I want to argue my case with God Himself.As for you, you smear me with lies.As physicians, you are worthless quacks.If only you could be silent!That's the wisest thing you could do. . . Your platitude...  Read More

hen Zophar the Naamathite replied to Job:Shouldn't someone answer this torrent of words?Is a person proven innocent just by a lot of talking?Should I remain silent while you babble on?When you mock God, shouldn't someone make you ashamed?You claim, 'My beliefs are pure,' and 'I am clean in the sight of God.'If only God would speak; if only He would tell you what He thinks!If only He would tell you...  Read More

"I am disgusted with my life. Let me complain freely. My bitter soul must complain.I will say to God, 'Don't simply condemn me -- tell me the charges you are bringing against me.What do you gain by oppressing me?Why do you reject me, the work of your own hands, while smiling on the schemes of the wicked?. . . Although you know I am not guilty, no one can rescue me from your hands.You formed me wit...  Read More

"God is not a mortal like me, so I cannot argue with Him or take Him to trial.If only there were a mediator between us, someone who could bring us together.The mediator could make God stop beating me, and I would no longer live in terror of His punishment.Then I could speak to Him without fear, but I cannot do that in my own strength."Job 9:32-35. These words of Job speak to the deepest needs of h...  Read More