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Eliphaz the Temanite says; that is; taking up the words of Job. 4, 2 Has it not been spoken to you many times in weariness? But who will bear the force of your words? You know, he says, O Job, that we have never spoken grievous things to you so as to weary you, nor have we ever despised you; but now, since we are not able to bear the harshness of your words, we have come to a contradiction. 4, 35 For if you have admonished many and encouraged the hands of the weak, and raised up the fainting with words, and given courage to feeble knees. But now pain has come upon you and touched you, and you are in haste. Remember, therefore, how as a friend you strengthened many who were exhausted by calamities with your words of comfort, and prepared those who had fallen into despondency to be of good courage by suggesting good hopes to them. What then have you suffered? How are you not able to bear the pain that has come upon you, but are disturbed and in haste to cast off the burden? And yet you 52 ought, remembering your own words, to be philosophical not only in the calamities of others, but also in your own. But observe how, in addition to his other virtues, Eliphaz testifies to Job that he also had the gift of teaching and uttered the word of comfort with divine grace, so as to prepare even those in calamities to be of good cheer through his exhortation. Now, these words of Eliphaz are not yet harsh, but what follows he no longer utters in keeping with the character of a comforter. 4, 6 Is not your fear in folly, and your hope and the evil of your way. For it has been shown, he says, by the facts, that you said in vain that you feared God. For the fear of God is comprehensive of the virtues. But you did not possess it purely, but being in evil you said you feared God and hoped in him, which is a matter of folly. 4, 79 Remember then, who that was pure perished? Or when did the upright perish root and all? In the way that I have seen those who plow iniquities, and those who sow them will reap pains for themselves. By the command of the Lord they will perish, and by the breath of his anger they will be destroyed. That whatever a man sows, this he also reaps, is manifest according to the holy apostle, and Eliphaz said this well. But since one must plow, then sow, then reap, he used the turn of speech accordingly. 53 But he did not understand this, that the retributions are not always here; for many of those who have done evil have departed unconvicted, not being punished in this life, but being kept for the future righteous judgment. He did not, therefore, declare well that the unjust are always punished here, or that the true and righteous do not always fall into calamities here. For these especially suffer for the most part, in order that they may be tested. But "root and all" means with their children and property, which is what Job suffered. Eliphaz, therefore, being mistaken, speaks against the scripture. For when the scripture said concerning Job, "And that man was upright," he himself says that, "You are not upright, or else you would not have perished from the roots." And "by the breath of his anger" means by the threat of God. 4, 1012 The strength of a lion, and the voice of a lioness, and the pride of serpents is extinguished; the ant-lion perished for not having food, and the lion's cubs have left one another. But if any true word had been in your speeches, none of these things would have befallen you. Some say that the ant-lion is not a real animal at all according to history, but is so named by composition. But others say that it is an animal and can live without food, God having so constructed it. Eliphaz therefore tries to show against the story that 54 Job is not upright, using examples from nature. Tell me, for he says, O Job, have the lions lost their own strength? Is not the lion a strong animal even until now? Has the pride of the serpents been extinguished? Do they not preserve their audacity and intrepidity until now? Has the ant-lion perished, and this while not being fed? Do the lion's cubs not graze in herds like cattle? Do they not live by themselves and each in its own place, as from the beginning by nature

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Ἐλιφὰζ ὁ Θαιμανίτης λέγει· τουτέστιν· τοὺς τοῦ Ἰὼβ λόγους διαδεξάμενος. 4, 2 μὴ πολλάκις σοι λελάληται ἐν κόπῳ; ἰσχὺν δὲ ῥημάτων σου τίς ὑποίσει; οἶσθα, φησίν, ὦ Ἰώβ, ὅτι οὐδέποτέ σοι λελαλήκαμεν λυπηρὰ ὥστε σε κοπῶσαι, οὐδέποτέ σου κατεφρονήσαμεν· νῦν δέ, ἐπειδὴ μὴ δυνάμεθά σου φέρειν τὴν τραχύτητα τῶν ῥημάτων, εἰς ἀντιλογίαν ἤλθομεν. 4, 35 εἰ γὰρ σὺ ἐνουθέτησας πολλοὺς καὶ χεῖρας ἀσθενοῦς παρεκάλεσας, ἀσθενοῦντας τε ἐξανέστησας ῥήμασι, γόνασί τε ἀδυνατοῦσι θάρσος περιέθηκας. νυνὶ δὲ ἥκει ἐπὶ σὲ πόνος καὶ ἥψατό σου, σὺ δὲ ἐσπούδασας. ἀναμνήσθητι τοιγαροῦν, ὡς πολλοὺς ὑπὸ συμφορῶν ἐκλελυμένους ὡς φίλος τοῖς παρακλητικοῖς σου λόγοις ἐπέρρωσας καὶ καταπεσόντας ὑπὸ τῆς ἀθυμίας θαρρεῖν παρεσκεύασας ἀγαθὰς ἐλπίδας αὐτοῖς ὑποθέμενος. τί οὖν πέπονθας; πῶς τὸν ἐπελθόντα σοι πόνον φέρειν οὐ δύνῃ, ἀλλὰ θορυβῇ καὶ σπουδάζεις ἀποθέσθαι τὸ βάρος; καίτοιγε ἐ 52 χρῆν σε τῶν οἰκείων ὑπομιμνησκόμενον λόγων μὴ ἐν ταῖς ἑτέρων μόνον, ἀλλὰ κἀν ταῖς σαυτοῦ συμφοραῖς φιλοσοφεῖν. ἐπιτήρει δέ, ὡς πρὸς ταῖς ἄλλαις ἀρεταῖς μαρτυρεῖ τῷ Ἰὼβ ὁ Ἐλιφάζ, ὅτι καὶ διδασκαλικὸν εἶχε χάρισμα καὶ τὸν παρακλητικὸν μετὰ χάριτος θείας προέφερε λόγον, ὥστε καὶ εὐθυμεῖν τοὺς ἐν ταῖς συμφοραῖς παρασκευάζειν διὰ τῆς παραινέσεως. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν οὔπω τραχέα τοῦ Ἐλιφὰζ τὰ ῥήματα, τὰ δὲ ἐφεξῆς οὐκέτι πρὸς τὴν τοῦ παραμυθουμένου προσώπου ποιότητα φθέγγεται. 4, 6 πότερον οὐχ ὁ φόβος σού ἐστιν ἐν ἀφροσύνῃ καὶ ἡ ἐλπίς σου καὶ ἡ κακία τῆς ὁδοῦ σου. δέδεικται γάρ, φησίν, ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων, ὅτι μάτην ἔλεγες τὸν θεὸν φοβεῖσθαι. ὁ γὰρ περὶ θεὸν φόβος περιεκτικός ἐστι τῶν ἀρετῶν. σὺ δὲ οὐ καθαρὸν τοῦτον ἐκέκτησο, ἀλλ' ἐν κακίᾳ ὢν ἔλεγες φοβεῖσθαι θεὸν καὶ ἐλπίζειν ἐπ' αὐτόν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἀφροσύνης. 4, 79 μνήσθητι οὖν τίς καθαρὸς ὢν ἀπώλετο ἢ πότε ἀληθινοὶ ὁλόρριζοι ἀπώλοντο. καθ' ὃν τρόπον εἶδον τοὺς ἀροτριῶντας τὰ ἄτοπα, οἱ δὲ σπείροντες αὐτὰ ὀδύνας θεριοῦσιν ἑαυτοῖς. ἀπὸ προστάγματος κυρίου ἀπολοῦνται, ἀπὸ δὲ πνεύματος ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ ἀφανισθήσονται. ὅτι μὲν ὃ σπείρει τις τοῦτο καὶ θερίζει, κατὰ τὸν ἱερὸν ἀπόστολον πρόδηλον, καὶ καλῶς τοῦτο εἶπεν ὁ Ἐλιφάζ. ἐπειδὴ δὲ δεῖ ἀροτριᾶν, εἶτα σπείρειν, εἶτα θερίζειν, ἀκολούθως ἐχρήσατο τῇ 53 τροπῇ τοῦ λόγου. ἐκεῖνο δὲ οὐκ ἐνόησεν, ὅτι οὐ πάντως ἐνταῦθα αἱ ἀνταποδόσεις· πολλοὶ γὰρ τῶν φαῦλα πραξάντων ἀνελέγκτως ἀπῆλθον μὴ κολασθέντες ἐν τῷδε τῷ βίῳ, ἀλλὰ τηρούμενοι τῷ μέλλοντι δικαίῳ κριτηρίῳ. οὐ καλῶς οὖν ἀπεφήνατο, ὅτι πάντως οἱ ἄδικοι ἐνταῦθα κολάζονται, ἢ ὅτι πάντως οἱ ἀληθινοὶ καὶ δίκαιοι οὐ περιπίπτουσιν ἐνταῦθα συμφοραῖς. οὗτοι γὰρ μάλιστα ὡς ἐπίπαν πάσχουσιν, ἵνα καὶ δοκιμασθῶσιν. τὸ δὲ ὁλόρριζοι ἀντὶ τοῦ· αὐτοῖς τέκνοις καὶ περιουσίᾳ, ὅπερ πέπονθεν ὁ Ἰώβ. πλανηθεὶς οὖν ὁ Ἐλιφὰζ ἀντιφθέγγεται τῇ γραφῇ. τῆς γὰρ γραφῆς εἰπούσης περὶ τοῦ Ἰώβ· καὶ ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ἀληθινὸς αὐτός φησιν ὅτι· οὐκ εἶ ἀληθινός, ἢ γὰρ ἂν οὐδὲ ἐκ ῥιζῶν ἀπώλου. τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ πνεύματος ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ ἀντὶ τοῦ· διὰ τῆς ἀπειλῆς τοῦ θεοῦ. 4, 1012 σθένος λέοντος, φωνὴ δὲ λεαίνης, γαυρίαμα δὲ δρακόντων ἐσβέσθη· μυρμηκολέων ὤλετο παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βοράν, σκυμνοὶ δὲ λεόντων ἔλιπον ἀλλήλους. εἰ δέ τι ῥῆμα ἀληθινὸν ἐγεγόνει ἐν λόγοις σου, οὐδὲν ἂν τούτων ἀπήντησέ σοι. τὸν μυρμηκολέοντα οἱ μὲν οὐδὲ ὅλως εἶναί φασι ζῷον καθ' ἱστορίαν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ σύνθεσιν οὕτως εἰρῆσθαι. οἱ δὲ λέγουσιν, ὅτι καὶ ζῷόν ἐστι καὶ δίχα τροφῆς δύναται διαζῆν οὕτως αὐτὸ τοῦ θεοῦ κατασκευάσαντος. πρὸς μὲν οὖν τὴν ἱστορίαν πειρᾶται δεικνύναι ὁ 54 Ἐλιφάζ, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθινὸς ὁ Ἰώβ, φυσικοῖς χρώμενος παραδείγμασιν. εἰπέ μοι, γάρ φησιν, ὦ Ἰώβ, μὴ οἱ λέοντες τὴν οἰκείαν ἀλκὴν ἀπώλεσαν; οὐ μέχρι νῦν ἰσχυρόν ἐστι τὸ ζῷον ὁ λέων; μὴ τῶν δρακόντων ἐσβέσθη τὸ γαυρίαμα; οὐ μέχρι νῦν σῴζουσι τὴν αὐθάδειαν καὶ τὸ ἀπτόητον; μὴ ὁ μυρμηκολέων ἀπώλετο, καὶ ταῦτα μὴ τρεφόμενος; μὴ οἱ τῶν λεόντων σκύμνοι ἀγεληδὸν ὥσπερ τὰ θρέμματα νέμονται; οὐ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ζῶσι καὶ ἕκαστος ἐν ἰδιάζοντι τόπῳ, ὡς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως