4:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
4:2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient?
But who can refrain ①from speaking?
▷ ①Lit in words
4:3 Behold, you have taught many,
And you have strengthened weak hands.
4:4 Your words have helped the stumbling to stand,
And you have strengthened ①feeble knees.
▷ ①Lit knees giving way
4:5 But now it comes to you, and you are impatient;
It touches you, and you are horrified.
4:6 Is your ①fear of God not your confidence,
And the integrity of your ways your hope?
▷ ①Or reverence for
4:7 “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright destroyed?
4:8 According to what I have seen, those who ①plow wrongdoing
And those who sow trouble harvest it.
▷ ①I.e., devise
4:9 By the breath of God they perish,
And by the ①blast of His anger they come to an end.
▷ ①Lit wind
4:10 The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions are broken out.
4:11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
4:12 “Now a word was brought to me secretly,
And my ear received a whisper of it.
4:13 Amid disquieting thoughts from visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on people,
4:14 Dread came upon me, and trembling,
And made ①all my bones shake.
▷ ①Lit the multitude of
4:15 Then a ①spirit passed by my face;
The hair of my flesh stood up.
▷ ①Or wind passed over
4:16 Something was standing still, but I could not recognize its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, then I heard a voice:
4:17 ‘Can mankind be righteous ①before God?
Can a man be pure ②before his Maker?
▷ ①Lit from ②Lit from
4:18 He puts no trust even in His servants;
And He accuses His angels of error.
4:19 How much more those who live in houses of clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before the moth!
4:20 Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;
Unregarded, they perish forever.
4:21 Is their tent-cord not pulled out within them?
They die, yet without wisdom.’