12 “A word was secretly brought to me,

my ears caught a whisper of it.

13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,

when deep sleep falls on people,

14 fear and trembling seized me

and made all my bones shake.

15 A spirit glided past my face,

and the hair on my body stood on end.

16 It stopped,

but I could not tell what it was.

A form stood before my eyes,

and I heard a hushed voice:

17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

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

18 If God places no trust in his servants,

if he charges his angels with error,

19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,

whose foundations are in the dust,

who are crushed more readily than a moth!

20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;

unnoticed, they perish forever.

21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,

so that they die without wisdom?’

12 “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;

my ear received the whisper of it.

13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night,

when deep sleep falls on men,

14 dread came upon me, and trembling,

which made all my bones shake.

15 A spirit glided past my face;

the hair of my flesh stood up.

16 It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

there was silence, then I heard a voice:

17 ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

18 Even in his servants he puts no trust,

and his angels he charges with error;

19 how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like the moth.

20 Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;

they perish forever without anyone regarding it.

21 Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,

do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me,

And mine ear received a little thereof.

13 In thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falleth on men,

14 Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones to shake.

15 Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair of my flesh stood up:

16 It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof:

An image was before mine eyes,

There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

17 Shall mortal man be more just than God?

Shall a man be more pure than his maker?

18 Behold, he put no trust in his servants;

And his angels he charged with folly:

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

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Which are crushed before the moth?

20 They are destroyed from morning to evening:

They perish for ever without any regarding it.

21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away?

They die, even without wisdom.

12 “This truth was given to me in secret,

as though whispered in my ear.

13 It came to me in a disturbing vision at night,

when people are in a deep sleep.

14 Fear gripped me,

and my bones trembled.

15 A spirit swept past my face,

and my hair stood on end.

16 The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape.

There was a form before my eyes.

In the silence I heard a voice say,

17 ‘Can a mortal be innocent before God?

Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’

18 “If God does not trust his own angels

and has charged his messengers with foolishness,

19 how much less will he trust people made of clay!

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

20 They are alive in the morning but dead by evening,

gone forever without a trace.

21 Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses,

and they die in ignorance.

12 “Now a word was secretly brought to me,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

13 In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

14 Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones shake.

15 Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair on my body stood up.

16 It stood still,

But I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence;

Then I heard a voice saying:

17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

Can a man be more pure than his Maker?

18 If He puts no trust in His servants,

If He charges His angels with error,

19 How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before a moth?

20 They are broken in pieces from morning till evening;

They perish forever, with no one regarding.

21 Does not their own excellence go away?

They die, even without wisdom.’

12 “A word was brought to me in secret,

and my ears heard a whisper of it.

13 It was during a nightmare

when people are in deep sleep.

14 I was trembling with fear;

all my bones were shaking.

15 A spirit glided past my face,

and the hair on my body stood on end.

16 The spirit stopped,

but I could not see what it was.

A shape stood before my eyes,

and I heard a quiet voice.

17 It said, ‘Can a human be more right than God?

Can a person be pure before his maker?

18 God does not trust his angels;

he blames them for mistakes.

19 So he puts even more blame on people who live in clay houses,

whose foundations are made of dust,

who can be crushed like a moth.

20 Between dawn and sunset many people are broken to pieces;

without being noticed, they die and are gone forever.

21 The ropes of their tents are pulled up,

and they die without wisdom.’

12 Now a thing was secretly brought to me,

And mine ear received a whisper thereof.

13 In thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falleth on men,

14 Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones to shake.

15 Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair of my flesh stood up.

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,

17 Shall mortal man be more just than God?

Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?

18 Behold, he putteth no trust in 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 before the moth!

20 Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed:

They perish for ever without any regarding it.

21 Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them?

They die, and that without wisdom.

12 “I was told something secretly 

and heard something whispered in my ear. 

13 With disturbing thoughts from visions in the night, 

when deep sleep falls on people, 

14 fear and trembling came over me, 

and all my bones shook. 

15 A spirit passed in front of me. 

It made my hair stand on end. 

16 Something stood there. 

I couldn’t tell what it was. 

A vague image was in front of my eyes. 

I heard a soft voice: 

17 ‘Can ⸤any⸥ mortal be righteous to God? 

Can ⸤any⸥ human being be pure to his maker?’ 

18 “You see, God doesn’t trust his own servants, 

and he accuses his angels of making mistakes. 

19 How much more will he accuse those who live in clay houses 

that have their foundation in the dust. 

Those houses can be crushed quicker than a moth! 

20 From morning to evening, they are shattered. 

They will disappear forever without anyone paying attention. 

21 Haven’t the ropes of their tent been loosened? 

Won’t they die without wisdom? 

12 A word was brought to me in secret;

my ears caught a whisper of it.

13 Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,

when deep sleep descends on men,

14 fear and trembling came over me

and made all my bones shake.

15 A wind passed by me,

and I shuddered with fear.

16 A figure stood there,

but I could not recognize its appearance;

a form loomed before my eyes.

I heard a quiet voice:

17 “Can a person be more righteous than God,

or a man more pure than his Maker?”

18 If God puts no trust in His servants

and He charges His angels with foolishness,

19 how much more those who dwell in clay houses,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like a moth!

20 They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;

they perish forever while no one notices.

21 Are their tent cords not pulled up?

They die without wisdom.

12 “Now a word came stealing to me,

my ear received the whisper of it.

13 Amid thoughts from visions of the night,

when deep sleep falls on mortals,

14 dread came upon me, and trembling,

which made all my bones shake.

15 A spirit glided past my face;

the hair of my flesh bristled.

16 It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

there was silence, then I heard a voice:

17 ‘Can mortals be righteous before God?

Can human beings be pure before their Maker?

18 Even in his servants he puts no trust,

and his angels he charges with error;

19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like a moth.

20 Between morning and evening they are destroyed;

they perish forever without any regarding it.

21 Their tent-cord is plucked up within them,

and they die devoid of wisdom.’

12 “And a word came stealing to me,

and my ear received the whisper from it.

13 Amid troubling thoughts from night visions,

at the falling of deep sleep on men,

14 dread met me, and trembling,

and it made many of my bones shake.

15 And a spirit glided before my face;

the hair of my flesh bristled.

16 It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance;

a form was before my eyes;

there was a hush, and I heard a voice:

17 ‘Can a human being be more righteous than God,

or can a man be more pure than his Maker?

18 Look, he does not trust in his servants

and he charges his angels with error.

19 How much more dwellers in clay houses,

whose foundation is in the dust?

They are crushed like a moth.

20 Between morning and evening they are destroyed;

without anyone regarding it they perish forever.

21 Is not their tent cord pulled up within them?

They die, but not in wisdom.’

12 “A message came to me in secret.

It was as quiet as a whisper.

13 I had a scary dream one night.

I was sound asleep.

14 Fear and trembling grabbed hold of me.

That made every bone in my body shake.

15 A spirit glided past my face.

The hair on my body stood on end.

16 Then the spirit stopped.

But I couldn’t tell what it was.

Something stood there in front of me.

I heard a soft voice.

17 It said, ‘Can a human being be more right than God?

Can a mere man be more pure than the One who made him?

18 God doesn’t trust those who serve him.

He even brings charges against his angels.

19 So he’ll certainly find fault with human beings.

After all, they are made out of dust.

They can be crushed more easily than a moth.

20 Between sunrise and sunset they are broken to pieces.

Nobody even notices. They disappear forever.

21 Like a tent that falls down, they get weak.

They die because they didn’t follow God’s wisdom.’ ”

12 “Now a word was brought to me stealthily,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

13 “Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

14 Dread came upon me, and trembling,

And made all my bones shake.

15 “Then a spirit passed by my face;

The hair of my flesh bristled up.

16 “It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence, then I heard a voice:

17 ‘Can mankind be just before God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

18 ‘He puts no trust even in His servants;

And against His angels He charges error.

19 ‘How much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before the moth!

20 ‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;

Unobserved, they perish forever.

21 ‘Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them?

They die, yet without wisdom.’