איוב 4
| ויען אליפז התימני ויאמר׃ | 1 |
Then Eliphaz, from Teman, replied to Job. He said,
| הנסה דבר אליך תלאה ועצר במלין מי יוכל׃ | 2 |
“Will you please let me say something to you? I am not [RHQ] able to remain silent [any longer].
| הנה יסרת רבים וידים רפות תחזק׃ | 3 |
In the past, you have instructed/taught many people, and you have encouraged those who were weak.
| כושל יקימון מליך וברכים כרעות תאמץ׃ | 4 |
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].
| כי עתה תבוא אליך ותלא תגע עדיך ותבהל׃ | 5 |
But now, when you experience disasters, you become discouraged. The disasters hit you, and you are stunned.
| הלא יראתך כסלתך תקותך ותם דרכיך׃ | 6 |
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!
| זכר נא מי הוא נקי אבד ואיפה ישרים נכחדו׃ | 7 |
Think about this: Do innocent people die [while they are still young] [RHQ]? Does God get rid of godly people [RHQ]? [No!]
| כאשר ראיתי חרשי און וזרעי עמל יקצרהו׃ | 8 |
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.
| מנשמת אלוה יאבדו ומרוח אפו יכלו׃ | 9 |
They die when God angrily blows his breath on them, when he is very angry with them.
| שאגת אריה וקול שחל ושני כפירים נתעו׃ | 10 |
[Even though wicked people may be very powerful like] young lions, [God] will get rid of them [MET].
| ליש אבד מבלי טרף ובני לביא יתפרדו׃ | 11 |
[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].”
| ואלי דבר יגנב ותקח אזני שמץ מנהו׃ | 12 |
“I heard a message that someone came and whispered to me.
| בשעפים מחזינות לילה בנפל תרדמה על אנשים׃ | 13 |
He spoke to me at night when I was having a bad dream that disturbed/frightened me while I was fast asleep.
| פחד קראני ורעדה ורב עצמותי הפחיד׃ | 14 |
It caused me to be afraid and tremble; it caused all my bones to shake.
| ורוח על פני יחלף תסמר שערת בשרי׃ | 15 |
A ghost glided past my face and caused the hair on [on the back of] my neck to stand straight up.
| יעמד ולא אכיר מראהו תמונה לנגד עיני דממה וקול אשמע׃ | 16 |
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,
| האנוש מאלוה יצדק אם מעשהו יטהר גבר׃ | 17 |
‘(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]
| הן בעבדיו לא יאמין ובמלאכיו ישים תהלה׃ | 18 |
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.
| אף שכני בתי חמר אשר בעפר יסודם ידכאום לפני עש׃ | 19 |
So he certainly cannot trust human beings who were made from dust and clay, who are crushed as easily as moths are crushed!
| מבקר לערב יכתו מבלי משים לנצח יאבדו׃ | 20 |
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).
| הלא נסע יתרם בם ימותו ולא בחכמה׃ | 21 |
They are like [MET] tents that collapse [suddenly]: They die [suddenly] before they become wise.’”
