Job 4
New Catholic Bible
Eliphaz’s First Speech[a]
Chapter 4
Can You Recall Even One Innocent Person Who Perished?[b] 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded:
2 “If one of us attempts to reason with you, will you be offended?
Yet who can refrain from speaking?
3 Recall how you instructed many others
and strengthened their feeble hands.
4 Your words have supported those who were staggering,
and you have made firm their faltering knees.
5 “But now that adversity has befallen you, you have grown impatient;
you are dismayed because it has troubled you.
6 Does not your piety give you confidence
and the integrity of your life offer you hope?
7 Can you recall even one innocent person who perished?
Where have the upright ever been destroyed?
8 “My experience has been that those who plow iniquity and sow trouble
reap no other harvest.
9 At the breath of God they are destroyed;
at the blast of his anger they perish.
10 Even though they are as fierce as lions,
their fangs will be broken off.
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the whelps of the lioness are abandoned.
Can a Human Being Appear Upright in the Presence of God?[c]
12 “A word was quietly brought to me;
a whisper of it reached my ears.
13 It was made known to me in nighttime visions
when sleep comes upon all men.
14 I was seized with terror and trembling
that caused all my bones to shake violently.
15 A spirit brushed across my face,
causing the hairs on my body to bristle.
16 It then halted,
but I could not discern its shape.
An image was before my eyes,
and then I heard a voice whisper:
17 “ ‘Can a human being appear upright in the presence of God?
Can a mortal seem pure before its Maker?
18 God places no trust in his servants,
and he finds fault even with his angels.[d]
19 How much more will this be true of those who dwell in houses of clay,
whose foundation is in the dust
and who can be crushed as easily as a moth.
20 From morning to evening they are cut down;
they perish forever, with hardly a thought from anyone.
21 Their tent-pegs are plucked up,
and they die devoid of wisdom.’
Footnotes
- Job 4:1 Job’s friends, who have not experienced suffering, try to shed light on Job’s suffering by means of their teaching. Their arguments remain theoretical in the presence of Job’s cry.
- Job 4:1 Eliphaz is certain that experience shows one thing—virtue is always rewarded, and impiety is always punished. And if Job can take advantage of a virtuous life, he must remain confident.
- Job 4:12 Thanks to a personal revelation, Eliphaz has understood this important truth: man is only dust and impurity before his Creator. He echoes a major revelation of the entire Bible.
- Job 4:18 See Job 15:15. Taking his inspiration possibly from ancient beliefs (see Gen 6:2-4), the author already sets forth imprecise bits of a theory concerning the fall of the angels, which will be developed in the apocalypses (see Rev 12:7-12).
Job 4
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[b] 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 teeth 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) comes over men,
14 fear and trembling came over me(P)
and made all my bones shake.
15 I felt a draft[c] on my face,
and the hair on my body stood up.
16 A figure stood there,
but I could not recognize its appearance;
a form loomed before my eyes.
I heard a whispering voice:
17 “Can a mortal be righteous before God?
Can a man be 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)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.