Job 4
1 Forsothe Eliphat Themanytes answeride, and seide,
Then Eliphaz, from Teman, replied to Job. He said,
2 If we bigynnen to speke to thee, in hap thou schalt take it heuyli; but who may holde a word conseyued?
“Will you please let me say something to you? I am not [RHQ] able to remain silent [any longer].
3 Lo! thou hast tauyt ful many men, and thou hast strengthid hondis maad feynt.
In the past, you have instructed/taught many people, and you have encouraged those who were weak.
4 Thi wordis confermyden men doutynge, and thou coumfortidist knees tremblynge.
By what you said, you have helped those who (needed spiritual help/almost quit trusting in God) [MET], and you have enabled them to become spiritually strong again [MET].
5 But now a wounde is comun on thee, and thou hast failid; it touchide thee, and thou art disturblid.
But now, when you experience disasters, you become discouraged. The disasters hit you, and you are stunned.
6 Where is thi drede, thi strengthe, and thi pacience, and the perfeccioun of thi weies?
You revere God; (does that not cause you to trust [in him]?/that should cause you to trust [in him].) [RHQ] If you were guiltless, you would [RHQ] be confident that [God] would not [have allowed] these disasters [to] happen to you!
7 Y biseche thee, haue thou mynde, what innocent man perischide euere, ethir whanne riytful men weren doon awei?
Think about this: Do innocent people die [while they are still young] [RHQ]? Does God get rid of godly people [RHQ]? [No!]
8 Certis rathir Y siy hem, that worchen wickidnesse, and sowen sorewis,
What I have experienced is this: [Just as] [MET] farmers who plant bad [seeds] do not harvest good [crops], [just as those who start] trouble for others, later bring trouble on themselves.
9 and repen tho, to haue perischid bi God blowynge, and to be wastid bi the spirit of his ire.
They die when God angrily blows his breath on them, when he is very angry with them.
10 The roryng of a lioun, and the vois of a lionesse, and the teeth of `whelpis of liouns ben al to-brokun.
[Even though wicked people may be very powerful like] young lions, [God] will get rid of them [MET].
11 Tigris perischide, for sche hadde not prey; and the whelpis of a lioun ben distried.
[They will die like] fierce lions [that] starve to death when there are no animals that they can kill and eat, and [their children will be separated from each other like] young lions separate from each other [to find food].”
12 Certis an hid word was seid to me, and myn eere took as theueli the veynes of priuy noise therof.
“I heard a message that someone came and whispered to me.
13 In the hidousnesse of `nyytis siyt, whanne heuy sleep is wont to occupie men,
He spoke to me at night when I was having a bad dream that disturbed/frightened me while I was fast asleep.
14 drede and tremblyng helde me; and alle my boonys weren aferd.
It caused me to be afraid and tremble; it caused all my bones to shake.
15 And whanne the spirit `yede in my presence, the heiris of `my fleisch hadden hidousnesse.
A ghost glided past my face and caused the hair on [on the back of] my neck to stand straight up.
16 Oon stood, whos chere Y knewe not, an ymage bifor myn iyen; and Y herde a vois as of softe wynd.
It stopped, but I could not see what form it had. But [I could sense that] there was some being in front of me, and it said in a quiet voice,
17 Whether a man schal be maad iust in comparisoun of God? ethir whethir a man schal be clennere than his Makere?
‘(Does God consider anyone to be righteous?/No human beings can be righteous in God’s sight!) [RHQ] (Their creator cannot consider them to be pure./Can their creator consider them to be pure?) [RHQ]
18 Lo! thei that seruen hym ben not stidefast; and he findith schrewidnesse in hise aungels.
God cannot be sure that his own angels [will always do what is right]; he declares that some of them have done what is wrong.
19 Hou myche more thei that dwellen in housis of cley, that han an ertheli foundement, schulen be wastyd as of a mouyte.
So he certainly cannot trust human beings who were made from dust and clay, who are crushed as easily as moths are crushed!
20 Fro morewtid til to euentid thei schulen be kit doun; and for no man vndurstondith, thei schulen perische with outen ende.
People are sometimes well in the morning, but in the evening they are dead. They are gone forever and do not even know it (OR, and no one pays any attention to it).
21 Sotheli thei, that ben residue, schulen be takun awei; thei schulen die, and not in wisdom.
They are like [MET] tents that collapse [suddenly]: They die [suddenly] before they become wise.’”
