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)
约伯记 4
Chinese New Version (Simplified)
以利法首次发言责难约伯
4 提幔人以利法回答说：
2 “人若对你说一句话，你就厌烦吗？
但谁又忍得住不说话呢？
3 你曾经教过许多人，
又坚固了无力的手；
4 你的话扶起了绊倒的人，
你使弯曲乏力的膝坚挺。
5 但现在祸患临到你，你就灰心，
灾祸遇上你，你就惊惶沮丧。
神赏善罚恶
6 你所自恃的，不是敬畏 神吗？
你所盼望的，不是行为完全吗？
7 请想一想，无辜的人有谁灭亡？
哪有正直的人被剪除呢？
8 据我所见，耕耘罪孽的，必收割罪孽；
种植毒害的，必收割毒害。
9 他们因 神的气息而灭亡，
因他的怒气而消灭。
10 狮子的咆哮，猛狮的吼声，尽都止息，
壮狮的牙齿也都断掉。
11 公狮因缺乏猎物而死亡，
母狮之子也被分散。
世人微不足道
12 有话偷偷传给我，
我的耳朵听到细语；
13 在夜间因异象而烦扰的心思中，
世人都在沉睡的时候，
14 恐惧战栗临到我，
以致我全身发抖。
15 有灵拂过我面前，
使我毛骨悚然。
16 那灵站住，
我辨不出他的形状，
只见有一形象在我眼前，
然后我听见低微的声音，说：
17 ‘人能在 神面前算为公义吗？
人能在他的创造主面前算为洁净吗？
18 他的仆役他还不信任，
他的天使他也指责过错，
19 何况那些住在土屋里，
根基在尘土中，
比蠹虫还容易被压碎的人呢？
20 在早晚之间他们就被毁灭，
永归沉沦，无人怀念。
21 他们帐棚的绳索不是从他们中间抽出来吗？
他们死去，不是无智慧而死吗？’”
Job 4
Expanded Bible
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “If someone tried to speak with you, would you be ·upset [or discouraged]?
I cannot keep from speaking.
3 Think about the many people you have taught
and the weak hands you have made strong.
4 Your words have ·comforted [L lifted up] those who ·fell [stumbled],
and you have strengthened those ·who could not stand [L with weak knees].
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;
·trouble hits [L it touches] you, and you are ·terrified [disturbed].
6 ·You should have [Shouldn’t you have…?] confidence because you ·respect [fear; have awe for] God;
·you should [should you not…?] have hope because ·you are innocent [L of your innocent ways].
7 “Remember ·that the innocent will not die [L who being innocent/blameless has perished…?];
·honest people will never be [L when were the honest/virtuous…? ] destroyed.
8 I have ·noticed [seen] that people who plow ·evil [wickedness]
and plant trouble, harvest it.
9 God’s breath destroys them,
and a blast of his anger ·kills [finishes] them.
10 Lions may roar and lion cubs growl,
but when the teeth of a strong lion are broken,
11 that lion dies ·of hunger [L without prey].
The cubs of the mother lion are scattered [C the wicked may briefly prosper but will ultimately perish].
12 “A word ·was brought to me in secret [L stole over me],
and my ears heard a whisper of it [C Eliphaz claims a supernatural revelation that supports his teaching].
13 It was during ·a nightmare [L anxious thoughts of a night vision]
when people are in deep sleep.
14 I was trembling with fear;
all my bones were shaking.
15 A spirit glided past my face,
and the hair on my ·body [L skin] stood on end.
16 The spirit stopped,
but I could not see what it was.
A shape stood before my eyes,
and I heard a quiet voice.
17 It said, ‘Can a human be more right than God?
Can a person be pure before his maker? [C the implied answer is no]
18 God does not trust his ·angels [L servants];
he blames ·them [L angels] for mistakes.
19 So ·he puts even more blame on [L what about…?] people who live in clay houses [C physical bodies],
whose foundations are made of dust [Gen. 2:7],
who can be crushed like a moth.
20 Between ·dawn and sunset [L morning and evening] many people are broken to pieces;
without being noticed, they die and are gone forever.
21 The ropes of their tents are pulled up,
and they die without wisdom.’
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Chinese New Version (CNV). Copyright © 1976, 1992, 1999, 2001, 2005 by Worldwide Bible Society.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.