Job 4:12–17

“Now a word was brought to me stealthily;

my ear received the whisper of it.

Amid thoughts from visions of the night,

when deep sleep falls on men,

dread came upon me, and trembling,

which made all my bones shake.

A spirit glided past my face;

the hair of my flesh stood up.

It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes;

there was silence, then I heard a voice:

‘Can mortal man be in the right before God?

Can a man be pure before his Maker?

“A word was secretly brought to me,

my ears caught a whisper of it.

Amid disquieting dreams in the night,

when deep sleep falls on people,

fear and trembling seized me

and made all my bones shake.

A spirit glided past my face,

and the hair on my body stood on end.

It stopped,

but I could not tell what it was.

A form stood before my eyes,

and I heard a hushed voice:

‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?

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

A word was brought to me in secret;

my ears caught a whisper of it.

Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,

when deep sleep comes over men,

fear and trembling came over me

and made all my bones shake.

I felt a draft on my face,

and the hair on my body stood up.

A figure stood there,

but I could not recognize its appearance;

a form loomed before my eyes.

I heard a whispering voice:

“Can a mortal be righteous before God?

Can a man be more pure than his Maker?”

“This truth was given to me in secret,

as though whispered in my ear.

It came to me in a disturbing vision at night,

when people are in a deep sleep.

Fear gripped me,

and my bones trembled.

A spirit swept past my face,

and my hair stood on end.

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,

‘Can a mortal be innocent before God?

Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’

“And a word came stealing to me,

and my ear received the whisper from it.

Amid troubling thoughts from night visions,

at the falling of deep sleep on men,

dread met me, and trembling,

and it made many of my bones shake.

And a spirit glided before my face;

the hair of my flesh bristled.

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:

‘Can a human being be more righteous than God,

or can a man be more pure than his Maker?

Now a thing was secretly brought to me,

And mine ear received a little thereof.

In thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falleth on men,

Fear came upon me, and trembling,

Which made all my bones to shake.

Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair of my flesh stood up:

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,

Shall mortal man be more just than God?

Shall a man be more pure than his maker?