Job 4

1 Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:

Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,

2 Si coeperimus loqui tibi, forsitan moleste accipies, sed conceptum sermonem tenere quis poterit?

If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? 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 made firm the feeble knees.

5 Nunc autem venit super te plaga, et defecisti: tetigit te, et conturbatus es.

But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

6 Ubi est timor tuus, fortitudo tua, patientia tua, et perfectio viarum tuarum?

Is not thy fear [of God] thy confidence, [And] the integrity of thy ways thy hope?

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 trouble, reap the same.

9 Flante Deo perisse, et spiritu irae eius esse consumptos:

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

10 Rugitus leonis, et vox leaenae, et dentes catulorum leonum contriti sunt.

The roaring 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 praedam, 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 eius.

Now a thing was secretly brought to me, And mine ear received a whisper thereof.

13 In horrore visionis nocturnae, 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, Which made all my bones to shake.

15 Et cum spiritus me praesente transiret, inhorruerunt pili carnis meae.

Then 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 aurae lenis audivi.

It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof; A form was before mine eyes: [There was] silence, and I heard a voice, [saying],

17 Numquid homo, Dei comparatione iustificabitur, aut factore suo purior erit vir?

Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than 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 aeternum peribunt.

Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed: 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.