Job 4

Chapter 4

Eliphaz: Innocent Do Not Suffer

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite ¹answered,

²“If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient?

But ^awho can refrain ¹from speaking?

³“Behold ^ayou have admonished many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

⁴“Your words have ¹helped the tottering to stand,

And you have strengthened ²feeble knees.

⁵“But now it has come to you, and you ^aare impatient;

It ^btouches you, and you are dismayed.

⁶“Is not your ^1afear of God ^byour confidence,

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

⁷“Remember now, ^awho ever perished being innocent?

Or where were the upright destroyed?

⁸“According to what I have seen, ^athose who plow iniquity

And those who sow trouble harvest it.

⁹“By ^athe breath of God they perish,

And ^bby the ¹blast of His anger they come to an end.

¹⁰“The ^aroaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

¹¹“The ^alion perishes for lack of prey,

And the ^bwhelps of the lioness are scattered.

¹²“Now a word ^awas brought to me stealthily,

And my ear received a ^bwhisper of it.

¹³“Amid disquieting ^athoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴Dread came upon me, and trembling,

And made ¹all my bones shake.

¹⁵“Then a ¹spirit 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 ^amankind be just ¹before God?

Can a man be pure before his ^bMaker?

¹⁸‘^aHe puts no trust even in His servants;

And against His angels He charges error.

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

Whose ^bfoundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before the moth!

²⁰‘^aBetween morning and evening they are broken in pieces;

Unobserved, they ^bperish forever.

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

They die, yet ^bwithout wisdom.’