< Job 4 >
1 Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:
And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 Si cœperimus loqui tibi, forsitan moleste accipies, sed conceptum sermonem tenere quis poterit?
If a word were essayed to thee, wouldest thou be grieved? But who can refrain from speaking?
3 Ecce docuisti multos, et manus lassas roborasti:
Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands;
4 Vacillantes confirmaverunt sermones tui, et genua trementia confortasti:
Thy words have upholden him that was stumbling, and thou hast braced up the bending knees:
5 Nunc autem venit super te plaga, et defecisti: tetigit te, et conturbatus es.
But now it is come upon thee, and thou grievest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
6 Ubi est timor tuus, fortitudo tua, patientia tua, et perfectio viarum tuarum?
Hath not thy piety been thy confidence, and the perfection of thy ways thy hope?
7 Recordare obsecro te, quis umquam innocens periit? aut quando recti deleti sunt?
Remember, I pray thee, who that was innocent has perished? and where were the upright cut off?
8 Quin potius vidi eos, qui operantur iniquitatem, et seminant dolores, et metunt eos,
Even as I have seen, they that plough iniquity and sow mischief, reap the same.
9 Flante Deo perisse, et spiritu iræ eius esse consumptos:
By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of his nostrils are they consumed.
10 Rugitus leonis, et vox leænæ, et dentes catulorum leonum contriti sunt.
The roar 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 old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.
12 Porro ad me dictum est verbum absconditum, et quasi furtive suscepit auris mea venas susurri eius.
Now to me a word was secretly brought, and mine ear received a whisper thereof.
13 In horrore visionis nocturnæ, quando solet sopor occupare homines,
In thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men: —
14 Pavor tenuit me, et tremor, et omnia ossa mea perterrita sunt:
Fear came on me, and trembling, and made all my bones to shake;
15 Et cum spiritus me præsente transiret, inhorruerunt pili carnis meæ.
And a spirit passed before my face — the hair of my flesh stood up —
16 Stetit quidam, cuius non agnoscebam vultum, imago coram oculis meis, et vocem quasi auræ lenis audivi.
It stood still; I could not discern the appearance thereof: a form was before mine eyes; I heard a slight murmur and a voice:
17 Numquid homo, Dei comparatione iustificabitur, aut Factore suo purior erit vir?
Shall [mortal] man be more just than God? Shall a man be purer than his Maker?
18 Ecce qui serviunt ei, non sunt stabiles, et in angelis suis reperit pravitatem:
Lo, he trusteth not his servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly:
19 Quanto magis hi qui habitant domos luteas, qui terrenum habent fundamentum, consumentur velut a tinea?
How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as the moth!
20 De mane usque ad vesperam succidentur: et quia nullus intelligit, in æternum peribunt.
From morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever.
21 Qui autem reliqui fuerint, auferentur ex eis: morientur, et non in sapientia.
Is not their tent-cord torn away in them? they die, and without wisdom.