Job 4

ISV^{(i) 1} Eliphaz: the Innocent Don’t SufferIn reply, Eliphaz from Teman answered: ² “Will you get offended if somebody tries to talk to you? Who can keep from speaking at a time like this? ³ Look! You’ve admonished many people, and you’ve strengthened feeble hands. ⁴ A word from you has supported those who have stumbled, and has strengthened faltering knees. ⁵ “But now it’s your turn, and you’re the one who is worn out! Now it’s striking you, and you’re dismayed! ⁶ “Your fear of God has been your confidence, hasn’t it? The integrity of your life has been your hope, hasn’t it? ⁷ Now please think: Who has ever perished when they’re innocent? Where have the upright been destroyed? ⁸ It’s been my experience that those who plow the soil of iniquity and those who sow the seed of trouble will reap their harvest! ⁹ They perish by the breath of God; they are consumed by the storm that is his anger. ¹⁰ “The lioness may roar, and the lion cub may growl; but even the ivory teeth of the full grown lion are broken. ¹¹ Full grown lions die when they cannot find prey; that’s when the lion cubs are scattered. ¹² “A message was confided to me; my ear caught a whisper of it. ¹³ Disquieting thoughts from dreams at night; when deep sleep falls on everyone. ¹⁴ A fear fell upon me, along with trembling that caused all my bones to shake in terror. ¹⁵ A spirit glided past me and made the hair on my skin to bristle. ¹⁶ It remained standing, but I couldn’t recognize its appearance. A form appeared before my eyes; At first there was silence, and then this voice: ¹⁷ ‘Can a mortal person be more righteous than God? Or can the purity of the valiant exceed that of his maker?’ ¹⁸ “Indeed, since he doesn’t trust his servants, since he charges his angels with error, ¹⁹ how much less confidence does he have in those who dwell in houses of clay; who were formed from a foundation in dust and can perish like a moth? ²⁰ They are defeated between morning and evening; they perish forever—and no one notices! ²¹ Their wealth perishes with them, doesn’t it? They die, and do so without having wisdom, don’t they?”