Job 4

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

²If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?

³Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

⁴Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

⁵But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

⁶Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

⁷Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

⁸Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

⁹By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

¹⁰The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

¹¹The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion’s whelps are scattered abroad.

¹²Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.

¹³In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,

¹⁴Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

¹⁵Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:

¹⁶It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

¹⁷Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

¹⁸Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

¹⁹How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

²⁰They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

²¹Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

²“If one ventures a word with you, will you be wearied? Yet who can keep from speaking?

³Surely you have instructed many, and have strengthened their feeble hands.

⁴Your words have steadied those who stumbled; you have braced the knees that were buckling.

⁵But now trouble has come upon you, and you are weary. It strikes you, and you are dismayed.

⁶Is your reverence not your confidence, and the uprightness of your ways your hope?

⁷Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?

⁸As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.

⁹By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.

¹⁰The lion may roar, and the fierce lion may growl, yet the teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

¹²Now a word came to me secretly; my ears caught a whisper of it.

¹³In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.

¹⁵Then a spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body bristled.

¹⁶It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes, and I heard a whispering voice:

¹⁷‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God, or a man more pure than his Maker?

¹⁸If God puts no trust in His servants, and He charges His angels with error,

¹⁹how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!

²⁰They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; unnoticed, they perish forever.

²¹Are not their tent cords pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’