Job 4:8

As I see it, those who

            Plow iniquity and sow trouble,

                        Reap the same.

 

My brain is in a fog from anger towards another individual. 

 

This verse feels awkward to me. I feel a drive to change it.

As I see it:

Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble,

                        Reap the same.

That feels better, but is it poetic? I have no memory of how I ended up with such a disjointed layout originally.

 

As I see it, those who plow iniquity

And sow trouble, reap the same.

Feels better than the first and looks poetic, but it has an equal lack of poetry.

 

As I see it,

            Those who plow iniquity,

                        And sow trouble,

                                    Reap the same.

Better. First time I remember struggling so much with layout.

 

I used “see it”, but others used “have seen” and “have observed” which would seem better, but puts off the judgmental aspect I felt “I see it” confers. “Evil”, “wickedness”, and “mischief” were options for “iniquity”, but I saw iniquity as the right balance of negativity, specificity, and action. “Wickedness” and “mischief” along with “wretchedness” were options for “trouble”, but mischief was too nice and the others too bad. The Poet used “seeding and harvesting trouble” which is probably a good balance and may be closer to the original, and would therefore balance out some of the form issues I had.

In the end, I feel I must not lash out in anger and let the Lord punish others for their sins according to God’s timing and judgement. I can still be a positive influence on others. I expect I will look back at this period and think “He got what he deserved.” Much like Eliphaz was implying Job has only gotten what he deserved from his bad behavior. If not, then so be it. It is God’s role to balance out these things and for me to follow Him and obey. I hear Him clearly telling me not to lash out, but my sinful nature tells me it could do a great job.