Job 4

¹Forsothe Eliphat Themanytes answeride, and seide,

²If we bigynnen to speke to thee, in hap thou schalt take it heuyli; but who may holde a word conseyued?

³Lo! thou hast tauyt ful many men, and thou hast strengthid hondis maad feynt.

⁴Thi wordis confermyden men doutynge, and thou coumfortidist knees tremblynge.

⁵But now a wounde is comun on thee, and thou hast failid; it touchide thee, and thou art disturblid.

⁶Where is thi drede, thi strengthe, and thi pacience, and the perfeccioun of thi weies?

⁷Y biseche thee, haue thou mynde, what innocent man perischide euere, ethir whanne riytful men weren doon awei?

⁸Certis rathir Y siy hem, that worchen wickidnesse, and sowen sorewis,

⁹and repen tho, to haue perischid bi God blowynge, and to be wastid bi the spirit of his ire.

¹⁰The roryng of a lioun, and the vois of a lionesse, and the teeth of `whelpis of liouns ben al to-brokun.

¹¹Tigris perischide, for sche hadde not prey; and the whelpis of a lioun ben distried.

¹²Certis an hid word was seid to me, and myn eere took as theueli the veynes of priuy noise therof.

¹³In the hidousnesse of `nyytis siyt, whanne heuy sleep is wont to occupie men,

¹⁴drede and tremblyng helde me; and alle my boonys weren aferd.

¹⁵And whanne the spirit `yede in my presence, the heiris of `my fleisch hadden hidousnesse.

¹⁶Oon stood, whos chere Y knewe not, an ymage bifor myn iyen; and Y herde a vois as of softe wynd.

¹⁷Whether a man schal be maad iust in comparisoun of God? ethir whethir a man schal be clennere than his Makere?

¹⁸Lo! thei that seruen hym ben not stidefast; and he findith schrewidnesse in hise aungels.

¹⁹Hou myche more thei that dwellen in housis of cley, that han an ertheli foundement, schulen be wastyd as of a mouyte.

²⁰Fro morewtid til to euentid thei schulen be kit doun; and for no man vndurstondith, thei schulen perische with outen ende.

²¹Sotheli thei, that ben residue, schulen be takun awei; thei schulen die, and not in wisdom.

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.