Job 4:1-21
4 And Elʹi·phaz+ the Teʹman·ite proceeded to reply and say:
2 “If one does try out a word* to you, will you become weary?But to put a restraint on words who is able?
3 Look! You have corrected many,+And the weak hands you used to strengthen.+
4 Anyone stumbling, your words* would raise up;+And knees giving way you would make firm.+
5 But this time it comes to you, and you become weary;It touches even you, and you get disturbed.
6 Is not your reverence [the basis of] your confidence?Is not your hope even the integrity+ of your ways?
7 Remember, please: Who that is innocent has ever perished?And where have the upright+ ever been effaced?
8 According to what I have seen, those devising what is hurtfulAnd those sowing trouble will themselves reap it.+
9 Through the breath of God they perish,And through the spirit of his anger they come to an end.
10 There is the roaring of a lion,* and the voice of a young lion,But the teeth of maned young lions do get broken down.
11 A lion is perishing from there being no prey,And the cubs of a lion* are separated from one another.
12 Now to me a word was stealthily brought,And my ear proceeded to get a whisper of it,+
13 In disquieting thoughts from visions of the night,When deep sleep falls upon men.
14 A dread came over me, and a trembling,And the multitude of my bones it filled with dread.
15 And a spirit itself went passing over my face;The hair of my flesh began to bristle.
16 It began to stand still,But I did not recognize its appearance;A form was in front of my eyes;There was a calm, and I now heard a voice:
17 ‘Mortal man*—can he be more just than God* himself?Or can able-bodied man be cleaner than his own Maker?’
18 Look! In his servants he has no faith,And his messengers* he charges with faultiness.
19 How much more so with those dwelling in houses of clay,Whose foundation is in the dust!+One crushes them* more quickly than a moth.
20 From morning to evening they are crushed to pieces;Without anyone’s taking [it to heart] they perish forever.
21 Has not their tent cord within them been pulled out?They die for lack of wisdom.
Footnotes
^ “Word.” Heb., dha·varʹ, used 20 times in Job.
^ “Your words.” Heb., mil·leyʹkha, used 34 times in Job and only 4 times in other books.
^ Heb., ʼar·yehʹ. An African lion.
^ Heb., la·viʼʹ. An Asian lion.
^ “Mortal man.” Heb., ha·ʼenohshʹ.
^ “Than God.” Heb., me·ʼElohʹah.
^ Or, “angels.”
^ Or, “They are crushed.”
