Job 4
1 Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 If one attempt a word with thee, wilt thou be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?
“If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Behold, thou hast admonished many; Thou hast strengthened feeble hands;
Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.
4 Thy words have upheld him that was falling, And thou hast given strength to feeble knees.
Your words have steadied those who stumbled; you have braced the knees that were buckling.
5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded!
But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.
6 Is not thy fear of God thy hope, And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence?
Is your reverence not your confidence, and the uprightness of your ways your hope?
7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? Or where have the righteous been cut off?
Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?
8 According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, And sow mischief, reap the same.
As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.
9 By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of his nostrils they are consumed.
By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.
10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 The fierce lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 A word was once secretly brought to me, And mine ear caught a whisper thereof.
Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.
13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
14 A fear and a horror came upon me, Which made all my bones to shake.
fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face, The hair of my flesh rose on end;
Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.
16 It stood still, but its form I could not discern; An image was before mine eyes; There was silence, and I heard a voice:
It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:
17 “Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall man be more pure than his Maker?
‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?
18 Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And his angels he chargeth with frailty.
If God puts no trust in His servants, and He charges His angels with error,
19 What then are they who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who crumble to pieces, as if moth-eaten!
how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
20 Between morning and evening are they destroyed; They perish for ever, and none regardeth it.
They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever.
21 The excellency that is in them is torn away; They die before they have become wise.”
Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’
