< Job 4 >

1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answers and says:
But Eliphaz the Themanite, answering, said:
2 “Has one tried a word with you? You are weary! And who is able to keep in words?
If we start to speak to you, perhaps you will take it badly, but who can hold back the words he has conceived?
3 Behold, you have instructed many, And feeble hands you make strong.
Behold, you have taught many, and you have strengthened weary hands.
4 Your words raise up the stumbling one, And you strengthen bowing knees.
Your words have reassured the wavering, and you have fortified the trembling knees.
5 But now, it comes to you, And you are weary; It strikes to you, and you are troubled.
But now the scourge has overcome you, and you falter. It has touched you, and you are disturbed.
6 Is your reverence not your confidence? Your hope—the perfection of your ways?
Where is your reverence, your fortitude, your patience, and the perfection of your ways?
7 Now remember, Who, being innocent, has perished? And where have the upright been cut off?
Consider this, I beg you: who ever perished being innocent? Or when have the righteous been destroyed?
8 As I have seen—plowers of iniquity, And sowers of misery, reap it!
In fact, I have instead seen those who work iniquity and who sow resentments, reap them,
9 From the breath of God they perish, And from the spirit of His anger [are] consumed.
perishing by the breath of God, and being consumed by the wrath of his spirit.
10 The roaring of a lion, And the voice of a fierce lion, And teeth of young lions have been broken.
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the teeth of young lions have been worn away.
11 An old lion is perishing without prey, And the whelps of the lioness separate.
The tiger has perished because it does not have prey, and the young lions have been scattered.
12 And a thing is secretly brought to me, And my ear receives a little of it.
Furthermore, a word was spoken to me in secret, and, as if by theft, my ears received the pulse of its whisper.
13 In thoughts from visions of the night, In the falling of deep sleep on men,
In the horror of a vision by night, when men are accustomed to be overtaken by a deep sleep,
14 Fear has met me, and trembling, And the multitude of my bones caused to fear.
fear and trembling seized me and all my bones were terrified.
15 And a spirit passes before my face, The hair of my flesh stands up;
And when a spirit passed before me, the hair on my body stood up.
16 It stands, and I do not discern its aspect, A likeness [is] before my eyes, Silence! And I hear a voice:
There appeared an image before my eyes, someone whose face I did not recognize, and I heard a voice like a gentle breeze.
17 Is mortal man more righteous than God? Is a man cleaner than his Maker?
Should man be justified in relation to God, or will a man be more pure than his Maker?
18 Behold, He puts no credence in His servants, Nor sets praise in His messengers.
Behold, those who serve him are not steadfast, and in his angels he finds imperfection.
19 Also—the inhabitants of houses of clay (Whose foundation [is] in the dust, They bruise them before a moth).
How much more will those who live in houses of clay, which have an earthly foundation, be consumed like the moth?
20 From morning to evening are beaten down, Without any regarding, they perish forever.
From morning all the way to evening, they will be cut down, and because no one understands, they will be destroyed without ceasing.
21 Has their excellence not been removed with them? They die, and not in wisdom!”
But those who are left behind will be taken away from them; they will die, and not in wisdom.

< Job 4 >