Job 4
1 Forsothe Eliphat Themanytes answeride, and seide,
Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
2 If we bigynnen to speke to thee, in hap thou schalt take it heuyli; but who may holde a word conseyued?
If one attempt a word with thee, wilt thou be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?
3 Lo! thou hast tauyt ful many men, and thou hast strengthid hondis maad feynt.
Behold, thou hast admonished many; Thou hast strengthened feeble hands;
4 Thi wordis confermyden men doutynge, and thou coumfortidist knees tremblynge.
Thy words have upheld him that was falling, And thou hast given strength to feeble knees.
5 But now a wounde is comun on thee, and thou hast failid; it touchide thee, and thou art disturblid.
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded!
6 Where is thi drede, thi strengthe, and thi pacience, and the perfeccioun of thi weies?
Is not thy fear of God thy hope, And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence?
7 Y biseche thee, haue thou mynde, what innocent man perischide euere, ethir whanne riytful men weren doon awei?
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? Or where have the righteous been cut off?
8 Certis rathir Y siy hem, that worchen wickidnesse, and sowen sorewis,
According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, And sow mischief, reap the same.
9 and repen tho, to haue perischid bi God blowynge, and to be wastid bi the spirit of his ire.
By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of his nostrils they are consumed.
10 The roryng of a lioun, and the vois of a lionesse, and the teeth of `whelpis of liouns ben al to-brokun.
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 Tigris perischide, for sche hadde not prey; and the whelpis of a lioun ben distried.
The fierce lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
12 Certis an hid word was seid to me, and myn eere took as theueli the veynes of priuy noise therof.
A word was once secretly brought to me, And mine ear caught a whisper thereof.
13 In the hidousnesse of `nyytis siyt, whanne heuy sleep is wont to occupie men,
Amid thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men,
14 drede and tremblyng helde me; and alle my boonys weren aferd.
A fear and a horror came upon me, Which made all my bones to shake.
15 And whanne the spirit `yede in my presence, the heiris of `my fleisch hadden hidousnesse.
Then a spirit passed before my face, The hair of my flesh rose on end;
16 Oon stood, whos chere Y knewe not, an ymage bifor myn iyen; and Y herde a vois as of softe wynd.
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 Whether a man schal be maad iust in comparisoun of God? ethir whethir a man schal be clennere than his Makere?
“Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall man be more pure than his Maker?
18 Lo! thei that seruen hym ben not stidefast; and he findith schrewidnesse in hise aungels.
Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And his angels he chargeth with frailty.
19 Hou myche more thei that dwellen in housis of cley, that han an ertheli foundement, schulen be wastyd as of a mouyte.
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 Fro morewtid til to euentid thei schulen be kit doun; and for no man vndurstondith, thei schulen perische with outen ende.
Between morning and evening are they destroyed; They perish for ever, and none regardeth it.
21 Sotheli thei, that ben residue, schulen be takun awei; thei schulen die, and not in wisdom.
The excellency that is in them is torn away; They die before they have become wise.”
