Job 4
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered Job.
2 If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?
“Could I say a word? I don't want to upset you but who could keep quiet and not respond?
3 Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
You've certainly encouraged many people and supported those who are weak.
4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.
Your advice has helped those who are stumbling not to fall, and you have strengthened those whose knees are weak.
5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
But now you're the one suffering and you're upset.
6 Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?
Wasn't it your reverence for God that gave you confidence and your integrity that gave you hope?
7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?
Think about it: since when did the innocent die? Since when were good people destroyed?
8 Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.
From what I've seen it's those who plant evil and sow trouble who reap the same!
9 By the blast of Eloah they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.
A breath from God destroys them; a blast of his anger wipes them out.
10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
Lions may roar and growl, but their teeth still break.
11 The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.
Even a lion dies from lack of food, and the lioness' cubs are scattered.
12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.
A word quietly crept up on me; a whisper reached my ear.
13 In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
Troubling thoughts came to me in nightmares when you fall into a deep sleep.
14 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
I became terrified and trembled; all my bones were shaking.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:
Then a breath brushed my face and gave me goose-pimples.
16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
Something stopped, but I couldn't see its face. My eyes could only make out a shape. It was totally quiet, and then I heard a voice:
17 Shall mortal man be more just than Eloah? shall a man be more pure than his maker?
‘Can anyone be right before God? Can anyone be pure before their Maker?
18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:
If he doesn't even trust his servants, and he says his angels make mistakes,
19 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?
how much more does this apply to those who live in these houses made of clay, whose foundations are based on dust, who fall apart like clothing to a moth?
20 They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.
Alive in the morning, they are dead by evening. They die, unnoticed.
21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
They are like tent ropes that are pulled up, and they collapse in death. They die without wisdom.’
