Job 4
1 Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:
Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
2 [Si cœperimus loqui tibi, forsitan moleste accipies; sed conceptum sermonem tenere quis poterit?
If one attempt a word with thee, wilt thou be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?
3 Ecce docuisti multos, et manus lassas roborasti;
Behold, thou hast admonished many; Thou hast strengthened feeble hands;
4 vacillantes confirmaverunt sermones tui, et genua trementia confortasti.
Thy words have upheld him that was falling, And thou hast given strength to feeble knees.
5 Nunc autem venit super te plaga, et defecisti; tetigit te, et conturbatus es.
But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded!
6 Ubi est timor tuus, fortitudo tua, patientia tua, et perfectio viarum tuarum?
Is not thy fear of God thy hope, And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence?
7 Recordare, obsecro te, quis umquam innocens periit? aut quando recti deleti sunt?
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? Or where have the righteous been cut off?
8 Quin potius vidi eos qui operantur iniquitatem, et seminant dolores, et metunt eos,
According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, And sow mischief, reap the same.
9 flante Deo perisse, et spiritu iræ ejus esse consumptos.
By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of his nostrils they are consumed.
10 Rugitus leonis, et vox leænæ, et dentes catulorum leonum contriti sunt.
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 Tigris periit, eo quod non haberet prædam, et catuli leonis dissipati sunt.
The fierce lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
12 Porro ad me dictum est verbum absconditum, et quasi furtive suscepit auris mea venas susurri ejus.
A word was once secretly brought to me, And mine ear caught a whisper thereof.
13 In horrore visionis nocturnæ, quando solet sopor occupare homines,
Amid thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men,
14 pavor tenuit me, et tremor, et omnia ossa mea perterrita sunt;
A fear and a horror came upon me, Which made all my bones to shake.
15 et cum spiritus, me præsente, transiret, inhorruerunt pili carnis meæ.
Then a spirit passed before my face, The hair of my flesh rose on end;
16 Stetit quidam, cujus non agnoscebam vultum, imago coram oculis meis, et vocem quasi auræ lenis audivi.
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 Numquid homo, Dei comparatione, justificabitur? aut factore suo purior erit vir?
“Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall man be more pure than his Maker?
18 Ecce qui serviunt ei, non sunt stabiles, et in angelis suis reperit pravitatem;
Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And his angels he chargeth with frailty.
19 quanto magis hi qui habitant domos luteas, qui terrenum habent fundamentum, consumentur velut a tinea?
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 De mane usque ad vesperam succidentur; et quia nullus intelligit, in æternum peribunt.
Between morning and evening are they destroyed; They perish for ever, and none regardeth it.
21 Qui autem reliqui fuerint, auferentur ex eis; morientur, et non in sapientia.]
The excellency that is in them is torn away; They die before they have become wise.”
