Job 4

1 Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:

Then responded Eliphaz the Temanite, and said: —

2 If one attempt a word with thee, wilt thou be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?

If one attempt a word unto thee, wilt thou be impatient? But, to restrain speech, who, can endure?

3 Behold, thou hast admonished many; Thou hast strengthened feeble hands;

Lo! thou hast admonished many, and, slack hands, hast thou been wont to uphold:

4 Thy words have upheld him that was falling, And thou hast given strength to feeble knees.

Him that was stumbling, have thy words raised up, and, sinking knees, hast thou strengthened.

5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded!

But, now, it cometh upon thee, and thou despairest, It smiteth even thee, and thou art dismayed.

6 Is not thy fear of God thy hope, And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence?

Is not, thy reverence, thy confidence? And is not, thy hope, the very 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, being innocent, hath perished, or when, the upright, have been cut off.

8 According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, And sow mischief, reap the same.

So far as I have seen, They who plow for iniquity and sow misery, reap the same:

9 By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of his nostrils they are consumed.

By the blast of GOD, they perish, And, by the breath of his nostrils, are they consumed:

10 The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

[Notwithstanding] the roaring of the lion, and the noise of the howling lion, yet, the teeth of the fierce lions, are broken:

11 The fierce lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.

The strong lion perishing for lack of prey, Even the whelps of the lioness, are scattered.

12 A word was once secretly brought to me, And mine ear caught a whisper thereof.

But, unto me, something was brought by stealth, —and mine ear caught a whispering of the same:

13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men,

When there were thoughts, from visions of the night, —When deep sleep falleth upon men,

14 A fear and a horror came upon me, Which made all my bones to shake.

Dread, came upon me, and trembling, The multitude of my bones, it put in dread:

15 Then a spirit passed before my face, The hair of my flesh rose on end;

Then, a spirit, over my face, floated along, The hair of my flesh bristled-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 distinguish its appearance, I looked, but there was no form before mine eyes, —A whispering voice, I heard: —

17 “Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall man be more pure than his Maker?

Shall, mortal man, be more just than GOD? Or 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.

Lo! in his own servants, he trusteth not, and, his own messengers, he chargeth 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 the dwellers in houses of clay, which, in the dust, have their foundation, which are crushed sooner than a moth:

20 Between morning and evening are they destroyed; They perish for ever, and none regardeth it.

Betwixt morning and evening, are they broken in pieces, With none to save, they utterly perish:

21 The excellency that is in them is torn away; They die before they have become wise.”

Is not their tent-rope within them, torn away? They die, disrobed of wisdom!