Job 4:1–5:8

1  And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2  If a word were essayed to thee, wouldest thou be grieved? But who can refrain from speaking? 3  Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands; 4  Thy words have upholden him that was stumbling, and thou hast braced up the bending knees: 5  But now it is come upon thee, and thou grievest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6  Hath not thy piety been thy confidence, and the perfection of thy ways thy hope?

7  Remember, I pray thee, who that was innocent has perished? and where were the upright cut off? 8  Even as I have seen, they that plough iniquity and sow mischief, reap the same. 9  By the breath of †God they perish, and by the blast of his nostrils are they consumed. 10  The roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken; 11  The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

12  Now to me a word was secretly brought, and mine ear received a whisper thereof. 13  In thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men: — 14  Fear came on me, and trembling, and made all my bones to shake; 15  And a spirit passed before my face—the hair of my flesh stood up— 16  It stood still; I could not discern the appearance thereof: a form was before mine eyes; I heard a slight murmur and a voice: 17  Shall mortal man be more just than †God? Shall a man be purer than his Maker? 18  Lo, he trusteth not his servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly: 19  How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as the moth! 20  From morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever. 21  Is not their tent-cord torn away in them? they die, and without wisdom.

Chapter 5

1  Call, I pray thee! Is there any that answereth thee? and to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn? 2  For vexation killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the simple. 3  I myself saw the foolish taking root, but suddenly I cursed his habitation. 4  His children are far from safety, and they are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer: 5  Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, and taketh even out of the thorns; and the snare gapeth for his substance.

6  For evil cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; 7  For man is born to trouble, as the sparks fly upwards. 8  But as for me I will seek unto •God, and unto God commit my cause;