Job 4:17–21

‘Can mortal man be in the right before God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

Even in his servants he puts no trust,

and his angels he charges with error;

how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like the moth.

Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;

they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,

do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?

If God places no trust in his servants,

if he charges his angels with error,

how much more those who live in houses of clay,

whose foundations are in the dust,

who are crushed more readily than a moth!

Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;

unnoticed, they perish forever.

Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,

so that they die without wisdom?’

“Can a mortal be righteous before God?

Can a man be more pure than his Maker?”

If God puts no trust in his servants

and he charges his angels with foolishness,

how much more those who dwell in clay houses,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like a moth!

They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;

they perish forever while no one notices.

Are their tent cords not pulled up?

They die without wisdom.

‘Can a mortal be innocent before God?

Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’

“If God does not trust his own angels

and has charged his messengers with foolishness,

how much less will he trust people made of clay!

They are made of dust, crushed as easily as a moth.

They are alive in the morning but dead by evening,

gone forever without a trace.

Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses,

and they die in ignorance.

‘Can a human being be more righteous than God,

or can a man be more pure than his Maker?

Look, he does not trust in his servants

and he charges his angels with error.

How much more dwellers in clay houses,

whose foundation is in the dust?

They are crushed like a moth.

Between morning and evening they are destroyed;

without anyone regarding it they perish forever.

Is not their tent cord pulled up within them?

They die, but not in wisdom.’

Shall mortal man be more just than God?

Shall a man be more pure than his maker?

Behold, he put no trust in his servants;

And his angels he charged with folly:

How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Which are crushed before the moth?

They are destroyed from morning to evening:

They perish for ever without any regarding it.

Doth not their excellency which is in them go away?

They die, even without wisdom.