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

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

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

Read in Logos

Public Domain