Job 4:12–5:7

¹²“Now a word came stealing to me;

my ear received the whisper of it.^*

¹³Amid thoughts from visions of the night,

when deep sleep falls on mortals,

¹⁴dread came upon me and trembling,

which made all my bones shake.^*

¹⁵A spirit glided past my face;

the hair of my flesh bristled.

¹⁶It 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 mortals be righteous before^v God?

Can humans be pure before^w their Maker?^*

¹⁸Even in his servants he puts no trust,

and his angels he charges with error;^*

¹⁹how much more those who live in houses of clay,

whose foundation is in the dust,

who are crushed like a moth.^*

²⁰Between morning and evening they are destroyed;

they perish forever without any regarding it.^*

²¹Their tent cord is plucked up within them,

and they die devoid of wisdom.’^*

Job Is Corrected by God

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

To which of the holy ones will you turn?^*

²Surely vexation kills the fool,

and jealousy slays the simple.^*

³I have seen fools taking root,

but suddenly I cursed their dwelling.^*

⁴Their children are far from safety,

they are crushed in the gate,

and there is no one to deliver them.^*

⁵The hungry eat their harvest,

and they take it even out of the thorns,^x

and the thirsty^y pant after their wealth.^*

⁶For misery does not come from the earth,

nor does trouble sprout from the ground,

⁷but humans are born to trouble

just as sparks^z fly upward.^*