Job 4
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
Then Eliphaz, from Teman, replied to Job. He said,
2 If a word were essayed to thee, wouldest thou be grieved? But who can refrain from speaking?
“Will you please let me say something to you? I am not [RHQ] able to remain silent [any longer].
3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands;
In the past, you have instructed/taught many people, and you have encouraged those who were weak.
4 Thy words have upholden him that was stumbling, and thou hast braced up the bending knees:
By what you said, you have helped those who (needed spiritual help/almost quit trusting in God) [MET], and you have enabled them to become spiritually strong again [MET].
5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou grievest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
But now, when you experience disasters, you become discouraged. The disasters hit you, and you are stunned.
6 Hath not thy piety been thy confidence, and the perfection of thy ways thy hope?
You revere God; (does that not cause you to trust [in him]?/that should cause you to trust [in him].) [RHQ] If you were guiltless, you would [RHQ] be confident that [God] would not [have allowed] these disasters [to] happen to you!
7 Remember, I pray thee, who that was innocent has perished? and where were the upright cut off?
Think about this: Do innocent people die [while they are still young] [RHQ]? Does God get rid of godly people [RHQ]? [No!]
8 Even as I have seen, they that plough iniquity and sow mischief, reap the same.
What I have experienced is this: [Just as] [MET] farmers who plant bad [seeds] do not harvest good [crops], [just as those who start] trouble for others, later bring trouble on themselves.
9 By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his nostrils are they consumed.
They die when God angrily blows his breath on them, when he is very angry with them.
10 The roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken;
[Even though wicked people may be very powerful like] young lions, [God] will get rid of them [MET].
11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
[They will die like] fierce lions [that] starve to death when there are no animals that they can kill and eat, and [their children will be separated from each other like] young lions separate from each other [to find food].”
12 Now to me a word was secretly brought, and mine ear received a whisper thereof.
“I heard a message that someone came and whispered to me.
13 In thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men: —
He spoke to me at night when I was having a bad dream that disturbed/frightened me while I was fast asleep.
14 Fear came on me, and trembling, and made all my bones to shake;
It caused me to be afraid and tremble; it caused all my bones to shake.
15 And a spirit passed before my face — the hair of my flesh stood up —
A ghost glided past my face and caused the hair on [on the back of] my neck to stand straight up.
16 It stood still; I could not discern the appearance thereof: a form was before mine eyes; I heard a slight murmur and a voice:
It stopped, but I could not see what form it had. But [I could sense that] there was some being in front of me, and it said in a quiet voice,
17 Shall [mortal] man be more just than God? Shall a man be purer than his Maker?
‘(Does God consider anyone to be righteous?/No human beings can be righteous in God’s sight!) [RHQ] (Their creator cannot consider them to be pure./Can their creator consider them to be pure?) [RHQ]
18 Lo, he trusteth not his servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly:
God cannot be sure that his own angels [will always do what is right]; he declares that some of them have done what is wrong.
19 How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as the moth!
So he certainly cannot trust human beings who were made from dust and clay, who are crushed as easily as moths are crushed!
20 From morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever.
People are sometimes well in the morning, but in the evening they are dead. They are gone forever and do not even know it (OR, and no one pays any attention to it).
21 Is not their tent-cord torn away in them? they die, and without wisdom.
They are like [MET] tents that collapse [suddenly]: They die [suddenly] before they become wise.’”
