Job 4
1 Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:
Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
2 Si cœperimus loqui tibi, forsitan moleste accipies; sed conceptum sermonem tenere quis poterit?
If one venture a word unto thee, wilt thou be weary? But who can withhold himself 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 falling, and thou hast strengthened the 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 art weary; it toucheth thee, and thou art affrighted.
6 Ubi est timor tuus, fortitudo tua, patientia tua, et perfectio viarum tuarum?
Is not thy fear of God thy confidence, and thy hope the integrity of thy ways?
7 Recordare, obsecro te, quis umquam innocens periit? aut quando recti deleti sunt?
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?
8 Quin potius vidi eos qui operantur iniquitatem, et seminant dolores, et metunt eos,
According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow mischief, reap the same.
9 flante Deo perisse, et spiritu iræ ejus esse consumptos.
By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger are they consumed.
10 Rugitus leonis, et vox leænæ, et dentes catulorum leonum contriti sunt.
The lion roareth, and the fierce lion howleth — yet 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 abroad.
12 Porro ad me dictum est verbum absconditum, et quasi furtive suscepit auris mea venas susurri ejus.
Now a word was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a whisper thereof.
13 In horrore visionis nocturnæ, quando solet sopor occupare homines,
In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,
14 pavor tenuit me, et tremor, et omnia ossa mea perterrita sunt;
Fear came upon me, and trembling, and all my bones were made to shake.
15 et cum spiritus, me præsente, transiret, inhorruerunt pili carnis meæ.
Then a spirit passed before my face, that made the hair of my flesh to stand up.
16 Stetit quidam, cujus non agnoscebam vultum, imago coram oculis meis, et vocem quasi auræ lenis audivi.
It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof; a form was before mine eyes; I heard a still voice:
17 Numquid homo, Dei comparatione, justificabitur? aut factore suo purior erit vir?
'Shall mortal man be just before God? Shall a man be pure before his Maker?
18 Ecce qui serviunt ei, non sunt stabiles, et in angelis suis reperit pravitatem;
Behold, He putteth no trust in 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 before the moth!
20 De mane usque ad vesperam succidentur; et quia nullus intelligit, in æternum peribunt.
Betwixt morning and evening they are shattered; they perish for ever without any regarding it.
21 Qui autem reliqui fuerint, auferentur ex eis; morientur, et non in sapientia.
Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.'
