² “I must say something.
    Would it upset you if I speak?
³ Job, you have taught many people.
    You encouraged those who were ready to quit.
⁴ Your words helped those who were ready to fall.
    You gave strength to those who could not stand by themselves.
⁵ But now trouble comes to you,
    and you are discouraged.
Trouble hits you,
    and you are upset.
⁶ You worship God.
    You trust him.
You are a good man,
    so let that be your hope.
⁷ Can you think of any innocent person who was ever destroyed?
    Do you know of any place where good people are punished?
⁸ Yes, I have seen people whose lives were cut short,
    but they were evil troublemakers.
⁹ They lost the breath God gave them.
    They were cut off from his breath of life.
¹⁰ They were like roaring lions,
    like growling lions with broken teeth—
¹¹ like a lioness that cannot find prey.
    They died, and their cubs starved to death.

¹² “I happened to hear a message.
    My ears caught a whisper of it.
¹³ Like a bad dream^[a] in the night,
    it ruined my sleep.
¹⁴ It frightened me,
    and I trembled down to my bones.
¹⁵ A spirit passed by my face.
    The hair on my body stood up!
¹⁶ The spirit stood still,
    but I could not see what it was.
A shape stood before my eyes,
    and there was silence.
    Then I heard a quiet voice:
¹⁷ ‘A person cannot be more right than God.
    People cannot be more pure than their Maker.
¹⁸ Look, God cannot even trust his heavenly servants.
    He sees faults even in his angels.
¹⁹ So surely people are worse!
    They live in houses of clay^[b] built on dust.
    They can be crushed as easily as a moth!
²⁰ From dawn to sunset people are destroyed.
    They die—gone forever—and no one even notices.
²¹ The ropes of their tent are pulled up,
    and they die before gaining wisdom.’