Job 4
1 Then responded Eliphaz the Temanite, and said: —
And Eliphaz the Temanite made answer and said,
2 If one attempt a word unto thee, wilt thou be impatient? But, to restrain speech, who, can endure?
If one says a word, will it be a weariness to you? but who is able to keep from saying what is in his mind?
3 Lo! thou hast admonished many, and, slack hands, hast thou been wont to uphold:
Truly, you have been a helper to others, and you have made feeble hands strong;
4 Him that was stumbling, have thy words raised up, and, sinking knees, hast thou strengthened.
He who was near to falling has been lifted up by your words, and you have given strength to bent knees.
5 But, now, it cometh upon thee, and thou despairest, It smiteth even thee, and thou art dismayed.
But now it has come on you and it is a weariness to you; you are touched by it and your mind is troubled.
6 Is not, thy reverence, thy confidence? And is not, thy hope, the very integrity of thy ways?
Is not your fear of God your support, and your upright way of life your hope?
7 Remember, I pray thee, who, being innocent, hath perished, or when, the upright, have been cut off.
Have you ever seen destruction come to an upright man? or when were the god-fearing ever cut off?
8 So far as I have seen, They who plow for iniquity and sow misery, reap the same:
What I have seen is that those by whom trouble has been ploughed, and evil planted, get the same for themselves.
9 By the blast of GOD, they perish, And, by the breath of his nostrils, are they consumed:
By the breath of God destruction takes them, and by the wind of his wrath they are cut off.
10 [Notwithstanding] the roaring of the lion, and the noise of the howling lion, yet, the teeth of the fierce lions, are broken:
Though the noise of the lion and the sounding of his voice, may be loud, the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 The strong lion perishing for lack of prey, Even the whelps of the lioness, are scattered.
The old lion comes to his end for need of food, and the young of the she-lion go wandering in all directions.
12 But, unto me, something was brought by stealth, —and mine ear caught a whispering of the same:
A word was given to me secretly, and the low sound of it came to my ears.
13 When there were thoughts, from visions of the night, —When deep sleep falleth upon men,
In troubled thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep comes on men,
14 Dread, came upon me, and trembling, The multitude of my bones, it put in dread:
Fear came on me and shaking, and my bones were full of trouble;
15 Then, a spirit, over my face, floated along, The hair of my flesh bristled-up:
And a breath was moving over my face; the hair of my flesh became stiff:
16 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: —
Something was present before me, but I was not able to see it clearly; there was a form before my eyes: a quiet voice came to my ears, saying:
17 Shall, mortal man, be more just than GOD? Or a man be more pure than, his Maker?
May a man be upright before God? or a man be clean before his Maker?
18 Lo! in his own servants, he trusteth not, and, his own messengers, he chargeth with error:
Truly, he puts no faith in his servants, and he sees error in his angels;
19 How much more the dwellers in houses of clay, which, in the dust, have their foundation, which are crushed sooner than a moth:
How much more those living in houses of earth, whose bases are in the dust! They are crushed more quickly than an insect;
20 Betwixt morning and evening, are they broken in pieces, With none to save, they utterly perish:
Between morning and evening they are completely broken; they come to an end for ever, and no one takes note.
21 Is not their tent-rope within them, torn away? They die, disrobed of wisdom!
If their tent-cord is pulled up, do they not come to an end, and without wisdom?
