Job 4
1 But Eliphaz the Themanite, answering, said:
Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
2 If we start to speak to you, perhaps you will take it badly, but who can hold back the words he has conceived?
If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking?
3 Behold, you have taught many, and you have strengthened weary hands.
Behold, thou hast instructed many, And thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
4 Your words have reassured the wavering, and you have fortified the trembling knees.
Thy words have upholden him that was falling, And thou hast made firm the feeble knees.
5 But now the scourge has overcome you, and you falter. It has touched you, and you are disturbed.
But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
6 Where is your reverence, your fortitude, your patience, and the perfection of your ways?
Is not thy fear [of God] thy confidence, [And] the integrity of thy ways thy hope?
7 Consider this, I beg you: who ever perished being innocent? Or when have the righteous been destroyed?
Remember, I pray thee, who [ever] perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?
8 In fact, I have instead seen those who work iniquity and who sow resentments, reap them,
According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, And sow trouble, reap the same.
9 perishing by the breath of God, and being consumed by the wrath of his spirit.
By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of his anger are they consumed.
10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of young lions have been worn away.
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
11 The tiger has perished because it does not have prey, and the young lions have been scattered.
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
12 Furthermore, a word was spoken to me in secret, and, as if by theft, my ears received the pulse of its whisper.
Now a thing was secretly brought to me, And mine ear received a whisper thereof.
13 In the horror of a vision by night, when men are accustomed to be overtaken by a deep sleep,
In thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth on men,
14 fear and trembling seized me and all my bones were terrified.
Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones to shake.
15 And when a spirit passed before me, the hair on my body stood up.
Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of my flesh stood up.
16 There appeared an image before my eyes, someone whose face I did not recognize, and I heard a voice like a gentle breeze.
It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof; A form was before mine eyes: [There was] silence, and I heard a voice, [saying],
17 Should man be justified in relation to God, or will a man be more pure than his Maker?
Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?
18 Behold, those who serve him are not steadfast, and in his angels he finds imperfection.
Behold, he putteth no trust in his servants; And his angels he chargeth with folly:
19 How much more will those who live in houses of clay, which have an earthly foundation, be consumed like the moth?
How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!
20 From morning all the way to evening, they will be cut down, and because no one understands, they will be destroyed without ceasing.
Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed: They perish for ever without any regarding it.
21 But those who are left behind will be taken away from them; they will die, and not in wisdom.
Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.
