Perhaps realizing that his words have been more accusatory than comforting, Eliphaz calibrates his tone in chapter 5. Instead of focusing on his certainty that only the wicked are punished like Job has been, he decides to accentuate the positive. It is not too late for Job! If Job throws himself upon God's mercy and gets right by Him, then he can trust God to do right by him.
The crux of Eliphaz's argument is that Job obviously has some repenting to do. Whatever secret sin Job has committed (after all, everyone thought he was such a righteous man - but they were self-evidently wrong about that in light of Job's excruciating suffering), he can seek the correction of the Lord and still come out of things okay.
Eliphaz's words strike me as coming from someone who simply cannot relate. He has all the answers, and he will make the circumstances of your situation fit his preconceived notions. He has no room to consider the possibility that something else may be going on. All he sees is that Job is suffering, and the only path out of that suffering must be to turn from wickedness to righteousness.
Note that this is not always bad advice. In many circumstances, Eliphaz's counsel may be just what is needed. Yet in this particular case concerning Job, Eliphaz's assumptions are terribly inaccurate. Job is not suffering because of his wickedness, but because of his righteousness.
Eliphaz ends his speech by asking Job to consider the truth of what he has said, and rather smugly suggests that Job apply it to himself. How will Job respond to his friend's viewpoint?
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