Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

“If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
    Yet who can keep from speaking?
Behold, you have instructed many,
    and you have (A)strengthened the weak hands.
Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
    and you have (B)made firm the feeble knees.
But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
    it touches you, and you are dismayed.
(C)Is not your fear of God[a] your (D)confidence,
    and the integrity of your ways your hope?

“Remember: (E)who that was innocent ever perished?
    Or where were the upright cut off?
As I have seen, those who (F)plow iniquity
    and sow trouble reap the same.
By (G)the breath of God they perish,
    and by (H)the blast of his anger they are consumed.
10 The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
    (I)the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

12 “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;
    my ear received (J)the whisper of it.
13 Amid (K)thoughts from (L)visions of the night,
    when (M)deep sleep falls on men,
14 dread came upon me, and trembling,
    which made all my bones shake.
15 A spirit glided past my face;
    the hair of my flesh stood up.
16 It stood still,
    but I could not discern its appearance.
(N)A form was before my eyes;
    there was silence, then I heard (O)a voice:
17 (P)‘Can mortal man be in the right before[b] God?
    Can a man be pure before his Maker?
18 Even in his servants (Q)he puts no trust,
    and his angels he charges with error;
19 how much more those who dwell in houses of (R)clay,
    whose foundation is in (S)the dust,
    who are crushed like[c] (T)the moth.
20 Between (U)morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;
    they perish forever (V)without anyone regarding it.
21 Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,
    (W)do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

Footnotes

  1. Job 4:6 Hebrew lacks of God
  2. Job 4:17 Or more than; twice in this verse
  3. Job 4:19 Or before

Elifas första tal

(A) Då tog Elifas från Teman till orda och sade:

Tar du illa upp
        om man försöker tala till dig?
    Vem kan hålla tillbaka sina ord?
(B) Se, du har väglett många
    och stärkt kraftlösa händer.
Dina ord har rest upp
        den som har snubblat,
    och du har gett kraft
        åt vacklande knän.
(C) Men nu gäller det dig,
        och då blir du modlös,
    du blir förskräckt
        när det drabbar dig.
Är inte din gudsfruktan
        din tillförsikt
    och dina vägars ostrafflighet
        ditt hopp?

Tänk efter:
    När gick en oskyldig förlorad,
        och var gick de rättsinniga
            under?
(D) Jag har sett att de som plöjer ondska
    och sår olycka får skörda sådant.
(E) De förgås för Guds andedräkt,
    de försvinner
        för hans vredes fnysning.
10 (F) Lejonen ryter och vrålar,
    men de unga lejonens tänder
        bryts av.
11 Det gamla lejonet
        förgås i brist på rov
    och lejonhonans ungar skingras.

12 Ett ord smög sig till mig,
    det nådde mitt öra
        som en viskning
13 när tankarna oroades
        av nattens syner
    och sömnen föll tung
        över människorna.
14 Skräck och bävan drabbade mig
    och fick alla mina ben att skaka.
15 En ande strök förbi mitt ansikte,
    håren på min kropp reste sig.
16 (G) Den stannade,
        men jag kunde inte
    urskilja utseendet
        på gestalten jag såg.
    Det var tyst,
        sedan hörde jag en röst:
17 (H) ”Kan en människa
        stå rättfärdig inför Gud,
    kan en människa vara ren
        inför sin skapare?
18 Han litar inte ens på sina tjänare,
    han finner fel hos sina änglar[a].
19 (I) Hur mycket mer hos dem
        som bor i hyddor av lera[b],
    dem som har sin grund i stoftet!
        De krossas lättare än mal.
20 När morgon blivit kväll
        ligger de slagna,
    de går under för alltid
        utan att någon märker det.
21 (J) Deras tältlinor rycks upp för dem,
    de dör utan visdom.”

Footnotes

  1. 4:18 finner fel hos sina änglar   Jfr änglarnas uppror i 2 Petr 2:4, Upp 12:7.
  2. 4:19 hyddor av lera   Människokroppen (jfr 1 Mos 2:7, 2 Kor 5:1f, 2 Petr 1:13f).

First Series of Speeches

Eliphaz Speaks

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
Indeed, you have instructed many
and have strengthened(A) weak hands.
Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.(B)
But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes(C) you, and you are dismayed.
Isn’t your piety your confidence,
and the integrity of your life[a] your hope?(D)
Consider: who has perished when he was innocent?
Where have the honest been destroyed?(E)
In my experience, those who plow injustice
and those who sow trouble(F) reap the same.(G)
They perish at a single blast(H) from God
and come to an end by the breath of His nostrils.(I)
10 The lion may roar and the fierce lion(J) growl,
but the fangs of young lions are broken.(K)
11 The strong lion dies if it catches no prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.(L)

12 A word was brought to me in secret;
my ears caught a whisper of it.(M)
13 Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,(N)
when deep sleep(O) descends on men,
14 fear and trembling came over me(P)
and made all my bones shake.
15 A wind[b] passed by me,
and I shuddered with fear.[c]
16 A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a quiet voice:
17 “Can a person be more righteous than God,
or a man more pure than his Maker?”(Q)
18 If God puts no trust in His servants
and He charges His angels with foolishness,[d](R)
19 how much more those who dwell in clay houses,(S)
whose foundation is in the dust,
who are crushed like a moth!
20 They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;
they perish forever while no one notices.(T)
21 Are their tent cords not pulled up?
They die without wisdom.(U)

Footnotes

  1. Job 4:6 Lit ways
  2. Job 4:15 Or A spirit
  3. Job 4:15 Or and the hair on my body stood up
  4. Job 4:18 Or error; Hb obscure