Job 4
New American Standard Bible 1995
Eliphaz: Innocent Do Not Suffer
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite [a]answered,
2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient?
But (A)who can refrain [b]from speaking?
3 “Behold (B)you have admonished many,
And you have strengthened weak hands.
4 “Your words have [c]helped the tottering to stand,
And you have strengthened [d]feeble knees.
5 “But now it has come to you, and you (C)are impatient;
It (D)touches you, and you are dismayed.
6 “Is not your [e](E)fear of God (F)your confidence,
And the integrity of your ways your hope?
7 “Remember now, (G)who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright destroyed?
8 “According to what I have seen, (H)those who plow iniquity
And those who sow trouble harvest it.
9 “By (I)the breath of God they perish,
And (J)by the [f]blast of His anger they come to an end.
10 “The (K)roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 “The (L)lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the (M)whelps of the lioness are scattered.
12 “Now a word (N)was brought to me stealthily,
And my ear received a (O)whisper of it.
13 “Amid disquieting (P)thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,
14 Dread came upon me, and trembling,
And made [g]all my bones shake.
15 “Then a [h]spirit passed by my face;
The hair of my flesh bristled up.
16 “It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, then I heard a voice:
17 ‘Can (Q)mankind be just [i]before God?
Can a man be pure [j]before his (R)Maker?
18 ‘(S)He puts no trust even in His servants;
And against His angels He charges error.
19 ‘How much more those who dwell in (T)houses of clay,
Whose (U)foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before the moth!
20 ‘(V)Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;
Unobserved, they (W)perish forever.
21 ‘Is not their (X)tent-cord plucked up within them?
They die, yet (Y)without wisdom.’
Job 4
New Living Translation
Eliphaz’s First Response to Job
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied to Job:
2 “Will you be patient and let me say a word?
For who could keep from speaking out?
3 “In the past you have encouraged many people;
you have strengthened those who were weak.
4 Your words have supported those who were falling;
you encouraged those with shaky knees.
5 But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart.
You are terrified when it touches you.
6 Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence?
Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?
7 “Stop and think! Do the innocent die?
When have the upright been destroyed?
8 My experience shows that those who plant trouble
and cultivate evil will harvest the same.
9 A breath from God destroys them.
They vanish in a blast of his anger.
10 The lion roars and the wildcat snarls,
but the teeth of strong lions will be broken.
11 The fierce lion will starve for lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness will be scattered.
12 “This truth was given to me in secret,
as though whispered in my ear.
13 It came to me in a disturbing vision at night,
when people are in a deep sleep.
14 Fear gripped me,
and my bones trembled.
15 A spirit[a] swept past my face,
and my hair stood on end.[b]
16 The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape.
There was a form before my eyes.
In the silence I heard a voice say,
17 ‘Can a mortal be innocent before God?
Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’
18 “If God does not trust his own angels
and has charged his messengers with foolishness,
19 how much less will he trust people made of clay!
They are made of dust, crushed as easily as a moth.
20 They are alive in the morning but dead by evening,
gone forever without a trace.
21 Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses,
and they die in ignorance.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
