Job 4

Eliphaz: Job Has Sinned

4Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

²“If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary?

But who can withhold himself from speaking?

³Surely you have instructed many,

And you ^ahave strengthened weak hands.

⁴Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

And you ^bhave strengthened the ¹feeble knees;

⁵But now it comes upon you, and you are weary;

It touches you, and you are troubled.

⁶Is not ^cyour reverence ^dyour confidence?

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

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

Or where were the upright ever cut off?

⁸Even as I have seen,

^fThose who plow iniquity

And sow trouble reap the same.

⁹By the blast of God they perish,

And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.

¹⁰The roaring of the lion,

The voice of the fierce lion,

And ^gthe teeth of the young lions are broken.

^11hThe old lion perishes for lack of prey,

And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

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.’