Job 4
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answers and says:
Then Eliphaz, from Teman, replied to Job. He said,
2 “Has one tried a word with you? You are weary! And who is able to keep in words?
“Will you please let me say something to you? I am not [RHQ] able to remain silent [any longer].
3 Behold, you have instructed many, And feeble hands you make strong.
In the past, you have instructed/taught many people, and you have encouraged those who were weak.
4 Your words raise up the stumbling one, And you strengthen bowing 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 comes to you, And you are weary; It strikes to you, and you are troubled.
But now, when you experience disasters, you become discouraged. The disasters hit you, and you are stunned.
6 Is your reverence not your confidence? Your hope—the perfection of your ways?
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 Now remember, Who, being innocent, has perished? And where have the upright been 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 As I have seen—plowers of iniquity, And sowers of misery, reap it!
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 From the breath of God they perish, And from the spirit of His anger [are] consumed.
They die when God angrily blows his breath on them, when he is very angry with them.
10 The roaring of a lion, And the voice of a fierce lion, And teeth of young lions have been broken.
[Even though wicked people may be very powerful like] young lions, [God] will get rid of them [MET].
11 An old lion is perishing without prey, And the whelps of the lioness separate.
[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 And a thing is secretly brought to me, And my ear receives a little of it.
“I heard a message that someone came and whispered to me.
13 In thoughts from visions of the night, In the falling of deep sleep 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 has met me, and trembling, And the multitude of my bones caused to fear.
It caused me to be afraid and tremble; it caused all my bones to shake.
15 And a spirit passes before my face, The hair of my flesh stands up;
A ghost glided past my face and caused the hair on [on the back of] my neck to stand straight up.
16 It stands, and I do not discern its aspect, A likeness [is] before my eyes, Silence! And I hear 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 Is mortal man more righteous than God? Is a man cleaner 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 Behold, He puts no credence in His servants, Nor sets praise in His messengers.
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 Also—the inhabitants of houses of clay (Whose foundation [is] in the dust, They bruise them before a 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 beaten down, Without any regarding, they perish forever.
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 Has their excellence not been removed with them? They die, and not in wisdom!”
They are like [MET] tents that collapse [suddenly]: They die [suddenly] before they become wise.’”
