Job 4:12–5:7

¹²“A message came to me in secret.

It was as quiet as a whisper.

¹³I had a scary dream one night.

I was sound asleep.

¹⁴Fear and trembling grabbed hold of me.

That made every bone in my body shake.

¹⁵A spirit glided past my face.

The hair on my body stood on end.

¹⁶Then the spirit stopped.

But I couldn’t tell what it was.

Something stood there in front of me.

I heard a soft voice.

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

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

¹⁸God doesn’t trust those who serve him.

He even brings charges against his angels.

¹⁹So 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.

²⁰Between sunrise and sunset they are broken to pieces.

Nobody even notices. They disappear forever.

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

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

5Eliphaz continued,

“Call out if you want to, Job.

But who will answer you?

Which one of the holy angels will you turn to?

²Anger kills foolish people.

Jealousy destroys those who are childish.

³I saw that foolish people were having success.

But suddenly a curse came down on their houses.

⁴Their children aren’t safe at all.

They lose their case in court.

No one speaks up for them.

⁵Hungry people eat up the crops of those who are foolish.

They even take the food that grows among thorns.

Thirsty people long for the wealth of the foolish.

⁶Hard times don’t just grow out of the soil.

Trouble doesn’t jump out of the ground.

⁷People are born to have trouble.

And that’s just as sure as sparks fly up.