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Job 4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Job 4
Holman Christian Standard Bible
First Series of Speeches
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Should anyone try to speak with you
when you are exhausted?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Indeed, you have instructed many
and have strengthened(A) weak hands.
4 Your words have steadied the one who was stumbling
and braced the knees that were buckling.(B)
5 But now that this has happened to you,
you have become exhausted.
It strikes(C) you, and you are dismayed.
6 Isn’t your piety your confidence,
and the integrity of your life[a] your hope?(D)
7 Consider: who has perished when he was innocent?
Where have the honest been destroyed?(E)
8 In my experience, those who plow injustice
and those who sow trouble(F) reap the same.(G)
9 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)
Job 4
New International Version
Job 4
New International Version
Eliphaz
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:
2 “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
But who can keep from speaking?(B)
3 Think how you have instructed many,(C)
how you have strengthened feeble hands.(D)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;(E)
you have strengthened faltering knees.(F)
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;(G)
it strikes(H) you, and you are dismayed.(I)
6 Should not your piety be your confidence(J)
and your blameless(K) ways your hope?
7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?(L)
Where were the upright ever destroyed?(M)
8 As I have observed,(N) those who plow evil(O)
and those who sow trouble reap it.(P)
9 At the breath of God(Q) they perish;
at the blast of his anger they are no more.(R)
10 The lions may roar(S) and growl,
yet the teeth of the great lions(T) are broken.(U)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,(V)
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.(W)
12 “A word(X) was secretly brought to me,
my ears caught a whisper(Y) of it.(Z)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people,(AA)
14 fear and trembling(AB) seized me
and made all my bones shake.(AC)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
and the hair on my body stood on end.(AD)
16 It stopped,
but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a hushed voice:(AE)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?(AF)
Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?(AG)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,(AH)
if he charges his angels with error,(AI)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,(AJ)
whose foundations(AK) are in the dust,(AL)
who are crushed(AM) more readily than a moth!(AN)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
unnoticed, they perish forever.(AO)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,(AP)
so that they die(AQ) without wisdom?’(AR)
Job 4
EasyEnglish Bible
Job 4
EasyEnglish Bible
Job's friend Eliphaz speaks to him[a]
4 Eliphaz, who came from Teman, decided to speak. He said this to Job:
2 ‘Please be patient and listen to what I say.
Allow me to speak, because I cannot remain quiet.
3 Listen! You have taught many people.
You have helped weak people to be strong.
4 With your words, you have saved people from danger.
You have helped people who are in trouble to be brave.
5 But now you are the person who has trouble.
You yourself are not patient.
Trouble has come to you and you feel afraid.
6 But you respect God's authority,
so you should trust him.
You live in an honest way,
so you should still hope for better things.
7 Think about this:
People who are not guilty of sin do not suddenly die.
God does not destroy people who do good things.
8 I will tell you what I have seen.
Trouble comes to people who do wicked things.
They receive the punishment that they deserve.
9 God destroys them with his breath.
His anger is like a storm that blows them away.
10 Lions are strong animals that roar loudly.
But if God breaks a lion's teeth, it cannot eat.
11 Even the strongest lion will die if it has nothing to eat.
The young lions will run away from their mother to find food.[b]
12 One night I heard a quiet voice.
Someone spoke to me and told me a secret.
13 I was asleep, but my dreams woke me.
14 I was very afraid.
Even my bones were shaking.
15 A wind was blowing over my face.
The hair on my skin stood up.
16 Something stopped and it stood in front of me.
I could not recognize its shape.
Then I heard a quiet voice say:
17 “No human is righteous when he stands in front of God.
He cannot be pure in front of his Maker.
18 God knows that even his angels make mistakes.
They may do foolish things.
19 God used clay to make bodies for us who are humans.
We came from the dust of the earth.
We are as weak as moths.
20 We are alive in the morning,
and when evening comes we may be dead.
People disappear for ever.
No one even knows about it.
21 They no longer have their valuable things.
They suddenly die and they are still not wise.” ’
Footnotes
- 4:1 Now Job's friend Eliphaz tries to explain to Job why bad things have happened. He says that God is kind to good people and he punishes people who are bad. So if bad things have happened, Job must have done wrong things.
- 4:11 Eliphaz says that God will destroy wicked people, even if they are very strong.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
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