Job 4

1 Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:

Then Eliphaz, from Teman, replied to Job. He said,

2 If one attempt a word with thee, wilt thou be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?

“Will you please let me say something to you? I am not [RHQ] able to remain silent [any longer].

3 Behold, thou hast admonished many; Thou hast strengthened feeble hands;

In the past, you have instructed/taught many people, and you have encouraged those who were weak.

4 Thy words have upheld him that was falling, And thou hast given strength to feeble knees.

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].

5 But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded!

But now, when you experience disasters, you become discouraged. The disasters hit you, and you are stunned.

6 Is not thy fear of God thy hope, And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence?

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!

7 Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? Or where have the righteous been cut off?

Think about this: Do innocent people die [while they are still young] [RHQ]? Does God get rid of godly people [RHQ]? [No!]

8 According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, And sow mischief, reap the same.

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.

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

They die when God angrily blows his breath on them, when he is very angry with them.

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

[Even though wicked people may be very powerful like] young lions, [God] will get rid of them [MET].

11 The fierce lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.

[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].”

12 A word was once secretly brought to me, And mine ear caught a whisper thereof.

“I heard a message that someone came and whispered to me.

13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men,

He spoke to me at night when I was having a bad dream that disturbed/frightened me while I was fast asleep.

14 A fear and a horror came upon me, Which made all my bones to shake.

It caused me to be afraid and tremble; it caused all my bones to shake.

15 Then a spirit passed before my face, The hair of my flesh rose on end;

A ghost glided past my face and caused the hair on [on the back of] my neck to stand straight up.

16 It stood still, but its form I could not discern; An image was before mine eyes; There was silence, and I heard a voice:

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,

17 “Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall man be more pure than his Maker?

‘(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]

18 Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And his angels he chargeth with frailty.

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.

19 What then are they who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who crumble to pieces, as if moth-eaten!

So he certainly cannot trust human beings who were made from dust and clay, who are crushed as easily as moths are crushed!

20 Between morning and evening are they destroyed; They perish for ever, and none regardeth it.

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).

21 The excellency that is in them is torn away; They die before they have become wise.”

They are like [MET] tents that collapse [suddenly]: They die [suddenly] before they become wise.’”