Job 4

1 Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:

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

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

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

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

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

7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? Or where have the righteous been cut off?

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

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

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

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

13 Amid 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.

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

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:

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

18 Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And his angels he chargeth with frailty.

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!

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

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