Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great
1 Then zEliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 a“Can a man be profitable to God?
Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right,
or is it gain to him if you bmake your ways blameless?
4 Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you
and centers into judgment with you?
5 Is not your evil abundant?
There is no end to your iniquities.
6 For you have dexacted pledges of your brothers for nothing
eand stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have given no water to the weary to drink,
and you have fwithheld bread from the hungry.
8 gThe man with power possessed the land,
and hthe favored man lived in it.
9 You have isent widows away empty,
and jthe arms of kthe fatherless were crushed.
10 Therefore lsnares are all around you,
and sudden terror overwhelms you,
11 or mdarkness, so that you cannot see,
12 “Is not God high in the heavens?
See pthe highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 But you say, q‘What does God know?
Can he judge through rthe deep darkness?
14 sThick clouds veil him, so that he does not see,
and he walks on the vault of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way
that wicked men have trod?
16 They were snatched away tbefore their time;
their foundation was washed away.1
17 They said to God, u‘Depart from us,’
and v‘What can the Almighty do to us?’2
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
but wthe counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 xThe righteous see it and are glad;
the innocent one ymocks at them,
20 saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
and what they left zthe fire has consumed.’
21 a“Agree with God, and bbe at peace;
thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive instruction from chis mouth,
and dlay up his words in your heart.
23 If you ereturn to the Almighty you will be fbuilt up;
if you gremove injustice far from your tents,
24 if you lay gold in hthe dust,
and gold of iOphir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold
and your precious silver.
26 For then you jwill delight yourself in the Almighty
and klift up your face to God.
27 You will lmake your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
and you will mpay your vows.
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
and nlight will shine on your ways.
29 For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’;3
but he saves othe lowly.
30 He pdelivers even the one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through qthe cleanness of your hands.”
The Parable of the Sower
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house oand sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, pso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And qhe told them many things in parables, saying: r“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but swhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, tthey withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among uthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some va hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 wHe who has ears,1 let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, x“To you it has been given to know ythe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 zFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, aeven what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because bseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, cnor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
d“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears ethey can barely hear,
and ftheir eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and gunderstand with their heart
and hturn, and I would heal them.’
16 But iblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 iFor truly, I say to you, jmany prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 k“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of lthe kingdom and mdoes not understand it, nthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately oreceives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but pendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately qhe falls away.2 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but rthe cares of sthe world and tthe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and munderstands it. He indeed ubears fruit and yields, in one case va hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
