Job, 4

1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

1. Eliphaz the Temanite spoke next:

2. [If] we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking?

2. Shall we speak? Do you mind? For who could remain silent?

3. Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands.

3. Remember how you have taught many others, how you have strengthened their feeble hands.

4. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

4. Your words have supported those who wavered, have steadied the knees that faltered.

5. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

5. But when your turn has come, you are discouraged; as soon as you are struck, you are dismayed.

6. [Is] not [this] thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

6. Should you not rely on your piety, and find assurance in your integrity?

7. Remember, I pray thee, who [ever] perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

7. Have you seen a guiltless man perish, or an upright man done away with?

8. Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

8. As I see it, those who plow evil or those who sow trouble reap the same.

9. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

9. By the breath of God they are swept away; by the blast of his wrath they are destroyed.

10. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken.

10. The lion may roar and growl; it will fall, the teeth of its cubs will be broken.

11. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.

11. The lion will die for lack of prey, and the whelps of its mate will stray.

12. Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.

12. I had a secret revelation; a whisper of it reached my ear.

13. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men,

13. Amid thoughts from night visions, when men are heavily wrapped in slumber,

14. Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

14. I was seized with fear and trembling that shook me to my very bones.

15. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:

15. A spirit passed over my face, and the hair of my body stood on end.

16. It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image [was] before mine eyes, [there was] silence, and I heard a voice, [saying],

16. It stopped and stood before my eyes, but I could not make out what it was. Silence... and then - a voice was heard:

17. Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

17. "Can a mortal be just in the eyes of God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?

18. Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

18. If God can put no trust in his servants, if he can charge his angels with error,

19. How much less [in] them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation [is] in the dust, [which] are crushed before the moth?

19. how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as easily as moths!

20. They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding [it].

20. Between dawn and dusk they perish, and unheeded, vanish forever,

21. Doth not their excellency [which is] in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.

21. Their tent has been unpegged and they died without knowing why.