Job 5: Happy Is the One God Corrects
Eliphaz finishes his case, urging Job to seek God, accept discipline, and trust that repentance will restore his fortunes.
Job 5 (WEB)
1 “Call now; is there any who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn?
2 For resentment kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple.
3 I have seen the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 His children are far from safety. They are crushed in the gate. Neither is there any to deliver them,
5 whose harvest the hungry eats up, and take it even out of the thorns. The snare gapes for their substance.
6 For affliction doesn’t come out of the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground;
7 but man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 “But as for me, I would seek God. I would commit my cause to God,
9 who does great things that can’t be fathomed, marvelous things without number;
10 who gives rain on the earth, and sends waters on the fields;
11 so that he sets up on high those who are low, those who mourn are exalted to safety.
12 He frustrates the devices of the crafty, So that their hands can’t perform their enterprise.
13 He takes the wise in their own craftiness; the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
14 They meet with darkness in the day time, and grope at noonday as in the night.
15 But he saves from the sword of their mouth, even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor has hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.
17 “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For he wounds, and binds up. He injures, and his hands make whole.
19 He will deliver you in six troubles; yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.
20 In famine he will redeem you from death; in war, from the power of the sword.
21 You shall be hidden from the scourge of the tongue, neither shall you be afraid of destruction when it comes.
22 At destruction and famine you shall laugh, neither shall you be afraid of the animals of the earth.
23 For you shall be allied with the stones of the field. The animals of the field shall be at peace with you.
24 You shall know that your tent is in peace. You shall visit your fold, and shall miss nothing.
25 You shall know also that your seed shall be great, Your offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 You shall come to your grave in a full age, like a shock of grain comes in its season.
27 Look this, we have searched it, so it is. Hear it, and know it for your good.”
Job 5 (KJV)
1 Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?
2 For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.
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.
5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh it even out of the thorns, and the robber swalloweth up their substance.
6 Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.
8 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause:
9 Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number:
10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:
11 To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.
12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
14 They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night.
15 But he saveth the poor from the sword, from their mouth, and from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor hath hope, and iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.
27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
Job 5 (ASV)
1 Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?
2 For vexation killeth the foolish man, And jealousy slayeth the silly one.
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:
5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, And taketh it even out of the thorns; And the snare gapeth for their substance.
6 For affliction cometh not forth from the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 But man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward.
8 But as for me, I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause;
9 Who doeth great things and unsearchable, Marvellous things without number:
10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth waters upon the fields;
11 So that he setteth up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety.
12 He frustrateth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
14 They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night.
15 But he saveth from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19 He will deliver thee in six troubles; Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
20 In famine he will redeem thee from death; And in war from the power of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue; Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh; Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24 And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; And thou shalt visit thy fold, and shalt miss nothing.
25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, Like as a shock of grain cometh in in its season.
27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; Hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
Summary
Eliphaz presses on, warning that resentment kills the foolish and that he has seen the foolish prosper only to be suddenly cursed, their children crushed and their harvest devoured. He insists that trouble does not spring up from the dust by chance; rather, man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. His counsel to Job is to seek God and commit his cause to the One who does great, unsearchable things—who sends rain, lifts up the lowly, frustrates the schemes of the crafty, and saves the needy from the mighty. Then comes the heart of his message: happy is the one whom God corrects, so Job should not despise the chastening of the Almighty, for God wounds and binds up, injures and makes whole. If Job will only accept his discipline, Eliphaz promises a sweeping reversal: deliverance from famine and war, protection from the scourge of the tongue, peace with the creatures of the field, a secure household, many descendants, and a full old age coming to the grave like ripened grain. He closes confidently, claiming he and his companions have searched the matter out and found it true. His words contain real truths about God's care, but they are built on the false premise that Job's suffering is corrective punishment for sin.
Voices
- Eliphaz the Temanite (speaking) — The friend who completes his first speech, urging Job to seek God, to embrace discipline as fatherly correction, and to expect restoration if he repents.
- Job (addressed) — The sufferer counseled to commit his cause to God, treated as one being chastened for sin and promised renewal on condition of repentance.
Key Verse
Job 5:17 (WEB)
“Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects. Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
Lessons Learned
- God does sometimes discipline those he loves, but not all suffering is corrective punishment.
- Real truths about God can be misapplied to wound rather than to heal.
- Promises of restoration ring hollow when built on a false diagnosis of someone's pain.
- We must be careful about claiming certainty over the hidden purposes of God in another's life.
- Trouble is woven into a fallen world. “Man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7, WEB); hardship is universal, not always a sign of personal guilt.
- God does great and unsearchable things. Eliphaz rightly says God “does great things that can’t be fathomed, marvelous things without number” (Job 5:9, WEB)—a truth the book will affirm in God's own voice.
- God's discipline can be a mercy. “Happy is the man whom God corrects” (Job 5:17, WEB) is true in its place, yet wrong as a blanket explanation of Job's affliction.
- God wounds and also heals. “For he wounds, and binds up. He injures, and his hands make whole” (Job 5:18, WEB)—a comfort that becomes cruel when it presumes Job's wounds are deserved.
- What does Eliphaz mean that 'man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward' (5:7)?
- Which of Eliphaz's statements about God are genuinely true, and which application is mistaken?
- How does Eliphaz frame Job's suffering as discipline, and why is that diagnosis flawed here?
- Eliphaz promises lavish restoration if Job submits. Why might such a promise feel cruel rather than comforting?
- How can we discern when hardship is loving discipline and when it simply belongs to life in a broken world?
- Eliphaz observes that affliction does not sprout from the ground by accident, but that humans are born to trouble as inevitably as sparks rise (5:6-7). The statement rightly recognizes that suffering is woven into a fallen world, though Eliphaz uses it to nudge Job toward admitting personal fault.
- Eliphaz beautifully describes God doing unfathomable things, sending rain, lifting the lowly, and frustrating the crafty (5:9-16), and God's care and discipline are real. The error is the unspoken premise that Job's losses prove hidden sin requiring correction.
- Eliphaz casts Job's suffering as the chastening of the Almighty (5:17), counseling him not to despise it. While God does discipline those he loves, the reader knows from chapters 1-2 that Job's suffering is not punishment for wrongdoing, so the diagnosis misfires badly.
- The promise of restored harvests, safety, and a full old age (5:19-26) is contingent on Job confessing a sin he has not committed. To a man who is already innocent, it offers a cure for a disease he does not have, and so it deepens rather than relieves his isolation.
- This is a discernment and application question. Help the group hold two truths: God can use hardship to refine us (Hebrews 12), yet much suffering is simply the result of living in a broken world. Encourage humility in interpreting others' trials and openness to God in our own.