Job 4:12–5:7

¹²“Now a word was secretly brought to me,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

¹³ⁱIn disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴Fear came upon me, and ^jtrembling,

Which made all my bones shake.

¹⁵Then a spirit passed before my face;

The hair on my body stood up.

¹⁶It 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?

¹⁸If He ^kputs no trust in His servants,

If He charges His angels with error,

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

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before a moth?

^20lThey are broken in pieces from morning till evening;

They perish forever, with no one regarding.

²¹Does not their own excellence go away?

They die, even without wisdom.’

Eliphaz: Job is Chastened by God

5“Call out now; Is there anyone who will answer you?

And to which of the holy ones will you turn?

²For wrath kills a foolish man,

And envy slays a simple one.

^3aI have seen the foolish taking root,

But suddenly I cursed his dwelling place.

⁴His sons are ^bfar from safety,

They are crushed in the gate,

And ^cthere is no deliverer.

⁵Because the hungry eat up his harvest,

¹Taking it even from the thorns,

²And a snare snatches their ³substance.

⁶For affliction does not come from the dust,

Nor does trouble spring from the ground;

⁷Yet man is ^dborn to ⁴trouble,

As the sparks fly upward.