“Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.”
Eliphaz states that those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap those same evils, articulating a fundamental law of moral causation: action and consequence are directly linked, and evil action generates evil outcomes. This doctrine of exact retribution assumes a moral universe governed by strict causality, where nothing is arbitrary and all suffering has a moral explanation. The assertion leaves no room for innocent suffering.
Church Fathers on Job 4:8
Even, as I have seen, they that plough iniquity, and sow sorrows, and reap the same, by the blast of God do they perish, and by the breath of His nostrils are they consumed. To ‘sow griefs’ is to utter deceits, but to ‘reap griefs’ is to prevail by so speaking. Or, surely, they ‘sow griefs,’ who do froward actions, they ‘reap griefs,’ when they ate punished for this forwardness. For the harvest of grief is the recompense of condemnation, and whereas it is immediately…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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