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
Reina Valera Contemporánea
Primera reprensión de Elifaz a Job
4 Elifaz, el temanita, respondió:
2 «Tratar de hablarte te será molesto;
pero, ¿quién podría quedarse callado?
3 Yo recuerdo que tus sabias enseñanzas
infundían fortaleza a los débiles.
4 Si alguien caía, tus palabras lo levantaban;
tú sostenías al que estaba por caer.
5 Pero ahora que eres tú quien sufre,
¡te desanimas y no logras superar tu turbación!
6 ¿Desconfías acaso de tu temor a Dios?
¿Ya no crees que tu integridad puede salvarte?
7 »Piensa en esto: ¿quién castiga al inocente?
¿Dónde has visto que el justo sufra algún daño?
8 Lo que sí he llegado a ver es lo siguiente:
los que siembran maldad, cosechan lo que siembran;
9 el aliento de Dios sopla sobre ellos,
y su enojo contra ellos los consume.
10 Aunque rujan como leones y gruñan como cachorros,
Dios los calla y les rompe los colmillos.
11 El león viejo muere por falta de presa,
y los cachorros de la leona se van por su camino.
12 »Mucho de esto lo desconocía;
pero una noche escuché un rumor.
13 En mis tenebrosas pesadillas,
y cuando mi sueño era más profundo,
14 algo me hizo temblar de miedo;
¡algo hizo que me estremeciera hasta los huesos!
15 Sentí sobre mi piel el soplo de un espíritu,
y el pelo de mi cuerpo se erizó.
16 Delante de mis ojos estaba una silueta;
y aunque no pude ver su rostro,
alcancé a escuchar que susurraba:
17 “¿Acaso el hombre es más justo que Dios?
¿Es acaso más puro que su propio creador?
18 Si Dios no confía ni en sus ángeles,
pues ve la torpeza de sus propios siervos,
19 ¿cómo puede confiar en el hombre,
que habita en casas construidas sobre el barro,
y que un día será pasto de los gusanos?
20 Nace por la mañana y muere por la noche,
y se pierde para siempre, sin que nadie lo recuerde;
21 ¡es arrancado, como las estacas de una carpa,
y muere antes de alcanzar sabiduría!”
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)
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