Job 4
1 Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
Then answered Eliphaz the Themanite, and said,
2 If one attempt a word with thee, wilt thou be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?
If we essay to address a word to thee, wilt thou be wearied? yet who is able to refrain from speaking?
3 Behold, thou hast admonished many; Thou hast strengthened feeble hands;
Behold, thou hast [ere this] corrected many, and weak hands thou wast wont to strengthen.
4 Thy words have upheld him that was falling, And thou hast given strength to feeble knees.
Him that stumbled thy words used to uphold, and to sinking knees thou gavest vigor.
5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded!
Yet now, when it cometh to thee, thou art wearied: it toucheth even thee, and thou art terrified.
6 Is not thy fear of God thy hope, And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence?
Is not then thy fear of God still thy confidence, thy hope equal to the integrity of thy ways?
7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? Or where have the righteous been cut off?
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous destroyed?
8 According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, And sow mischief, reap the same.
Even as I have seen, that those who plough wrong-doing, and sow trouble, have to reap the same.
9 By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of his nostrils they are consumed.
Before the breathing of God they perish, and before the breath of his nostrils they come to their end.
10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and 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 perisheth for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness have to scatter themselves abroad.
12 A word was once secretly brought to me, And mine ear caught a whisper thereof.
But to me a word came by stealth, and my ear took in a scarcely perceptible whisper thereof.
13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In intense thoughts out of visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men:
14 A fear and a horror came upon me, Which made all my bones to shake.
Dread came over me, with trembling, and it caused all my bones to shudder.
15 Then a spirit passed before my face, The hair of my flesh rose on end;
Then flitted a spirit past before my face; the hair of my body stood up:
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 recognize its form; a figure was before my eyes, a slight whisper, then a [louder] voice I heard, saying,
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 can a man be more pure than his Maker?
18 Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And his angels he chargeth with frailty.
Behold, in his servants he putteth no trust, and his angels he chargeth with folly:
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 less in those that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed till they come to be eaten by the moth?
20 Between morning and evening are they destroyed; They perish for ever, and none regardeth it.
From morning to evening are they broken to pieces: without laying it [to heart] they perish for ever.
21 The excellency that is in them is torn away; They die before they have become wise.”
Behold, their excellency which is in them is torn away: they die, and this without wisdom.
