Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

"If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
Behold, you have instructed many,
and you have strengthened the weak hands.
Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
and you have made firm the feeble knees.
But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
it touches you, and you are dismayed.
Is not your fear of God your confidence,
and the integrity of your ways your hope?

"Remember: who that was innocent ever perished?
Or where were the upright cut off?
As I have seen, those who plough iniquity
and sow trouble reap the same.
By the breath of God they perish,
and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.
The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
the teeth of the young lions are broken.
The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

"Now a word was brought to me stealthily;
my ear received the whisper of it.
Amid thoughts from visions of the night,
when deep sleep falls on men,
dread came upon me, and trembling,
which made all my bones shake.
A spirit glided past my face;
the hair of my flesh stood up.
It stood still,
but I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
there was silence, then I heard a voice:
'Can mortal man be in the right before God?
Can a man be pure before his Maker?
Even in his servants he puts no trust,
and his angels he charges with error;
how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like the moth.
Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;
they perish for ever without anyone regarding it.
Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,
do they not die, and that without wisdom?'

"Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple.
I have seen the fool taking root,
but suddenly I curse his dwelling.
His children are far from safety;
they are crushed in the gate,
and there is no one to deliver them.
The hungry eat his harvest,
and he takes it even out of thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
For affliction does not come from dust,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
but man is born to trouble
as the sparks fly upwards.

"As for me, I would seek God,
and to God would I commit my cause,
who does great things and unsearchable,
marvellous things without number:
he gives rain on the earth
and sends water on the fields;
he sets on high those who are lowly,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
They meet with darkness in the daytime
and grope at noonday as in the night.
But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth
and from the hand of the mighty.
So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts her mouth.

"Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;
therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
For he wounds, but he binds up;
he shatters, but his hands heal.
He will deliver you from six troubles;
in seven no evil shall touch you.
In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in war from the power of the sword.
You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue,
and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
At destruction and famine you shall laugh,
and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.
For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,
and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
You shall know that your tent is at peace,
and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
You shall know also that your offspring shall be many,
and your descendants as the grass of the earth.
You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,
like sheaf gathered up in its season.
Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.
Hear, and know it for your good."

So Elpihaz starts off replying to Job, after seven days and seven nights of silence.

First it seems that Eliphaz thinks Job is weak for being dismayed in his current condition, since he used to instruct and comfort people who were in suffering before. Eliphaz thinks Job should get confidence and hope from the fear of God and his integrity. Elpihaz thinks that the innocent won't have problems, but that those who are iniquitous do (clearly implying that Job is at fault). Then he gets a little over dramatic and describes this voice that told him that mortal men can't be in the right before God, and that even angels are rebuked.

Then it seems as if Eliphaz is saying that the rich fool suffers for his selfishness. He takes a pretty low blow at Job, associating him with the rich fool by saying that his children are crushed in the gate, just as Job's children were crushed in their house. Eliphaz seems to be saying that since Job was so selfish (which we have no other evidence for), no one will come to his aid and God is punishing him.

Then Eliphaz says that he would seek God, since God is in control. Most of what he says about God seems good and right.

Finally he says that even though God is punishing Job now, He will restore him later.

It seems though that Eliphaz is teaching that God always immediately blesses those who turn to him, and punishes those who are injust or sinful. And he also seems to be saying that Job shouldn't worry that God is punishing him, because no men are pure before God, and that God will punish but restore him.

All in all, it seems like Eliphaz doesn't really comfort Job in his suffering, he tells him to get over it. I doubt that is an effective way to help someone in suffering, and as we'll see, next Job just wants to communicate exactly how much pain he is in, but can't find the words to do it.

All scripture passages are from the ESV.