Job 4

1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,

Then Eliphaz the Thaemanite answered and said,

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

Hast you been often spoken to in distress? but who shall endure the force of your words?

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

For whereas you have instructed many, and have strengthened the hands of the weak one,

4 Thy words have upholden him that was falling, And thou hast made firm the feeble knees.

and have supported the failing with words, and have imparted courage to feeble knees.

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

Yet now [that] pain has come upon you, and touched you, you are troubled.

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

Is not your fear [founded] in folly, your hope also, and the mischief of your way?

7 Remember, I pray thee, who [ever] perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?

Remember then who has perished, being pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed?

8 According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, And sow trouble, reap the same.

Accordingly as I have seen men ploughing barren places, and they that sow them will reap sorrows for themselves.

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

They shall perish by the command of the Lord, and shall be utterly consumed by the breath of his wrath.

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

The strength of the lion, and the voice of the lioness, and the exulting cry of serpents are quenched.

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

The old lion has perished for lack of food, and the lions' whelps have forsaken one another.

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

But if there had been any truth in your words, none of these evils would have befallen you. Shall not mine ear receive excellent [revelations] from him?

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

But [as when] terror falls upon men, with dread and a sound in the night,

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

horror and trembling seized me, and caused all my bones greatly to shake.

15 Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of my flesh stood up.

And a spirit came before my face; and my hair and flesh quivered.

16 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],

I arose and perceived it not: I looked, and there, was no form before my eyes: but I only heard a breath and a voice, [saying],

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

What, shall a mortal be pure before the Lord? or a man be blameless in regard to his works?

18 Behold, he putteth no trust in his servants; And his angels he chargeth with folly:

Whereas he trust not in his servants, and perceives perverseness in his angels.

19 How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!

But [as for] them that dwell in houses of clay, of whom we also are formed of the same clay, he smites them like a moth.

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

And from the morning to evening they no longer exist: they have perished, because they can’t help themselves.

21 Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.

For he blows upon them, and they are withered: they have perished for lack of wisdom.