Job 4
Contemporary English Version
Eliphaz's First Speech
Please Be Patient and Listen
4 Eliphaz from Teman[a] said:
2 Please be patient and listen
to what I have to say.
* 3 Remember how your words
4 have guided and encouraged
many in need.
5 But now you feel discouraged
when struck by trouble.
6 You respect God and live right,
so don't lose hope!
7 No truly innocent person
has ever died young.
8 In my experience, only those
who plant seeds of evil
harvest trouble,
9 and then they are swept away
by the angry breath of God.
10 They may roar and growl
like powerful lions.
But when God breaks their teeth,
11 they starve, and their children
are scattered.
A Secret Was Told to Me
12 A secret was told to me
in a faint whisper—
13 (A) I was overcome by sleep,
but disturbed by dreams;
14 I trembled with fear,
15 and my hair stood on end,
as a wind blew past my face.
16 It stopped and stood still.
Then a form appeared—
a shapeless form.
And from the silence,
I heard a voice say,
17 “No humans are innocent
in the eyes of God
their Creator.
18 He finds fault with his servants
and even with his angels.
19 Humans are formed from clay
and are fragile as moths,
so what chance do you have?
20 Born after daybreak,
you die before nightfall
and disappear forever.
21 Your tent pegs are pulled up,
and you leave this life,
having gained no wisdom.”
Footnotes
- 4.1 Teman: See the note at 2.11.
Job 4
GOD’S WORD Translation
Eliphaz Speaks: Be Patient and Listen, Job
4 Then Eliphaz from Teman replied ⌞to Job⌟,
2 “If someone tries to talk to you, will you become impatient?
But who can keep from talking?
3 Certainly, you have instructed many people:
When hands were weak, you made them strong.
4 When someone stumbled, you lifted him up with your words.
When knees were weak, you gave them strength.
5 But trouble comes to you, and you’re impatient.
It touches you, and you panic.
6 Doesn’t your fear of God give you confidence
and your lifetime of integrity give you hope?
Only Evil People Suffer
7 “Now think about this:
Which innocent person ⌞ever⌟ died ⌞an untimely death⌟?
Find me a decent person who has been destroyed.
8 Whenever I saw those who plowed wickedness and planted misery,
they gathered its harvest.
9 God destroys them with his breath
and kills them with a blast of his anger.
10 Though the roar of the lion
and the growl of the ferocious lion ⌞is loud⌟,
the young lions have had their teeth knocked out.
11 The old lions die without any prey ⌞to eat⌟,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 “I was told something secretly
and heard something whispered in my ear.
13 With disturbing thoughts from visions in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people,
14 fear and trembling came over me,
and all my bones shook.
15 A spirit passed in front of me.
It made my hair stand on end.
16 Something stood there.
I couldn’t tell what it was.
A vague image was in front of my eyes.
I heard a soft voice:
17 ‘Can ⌞any⌟ mortal be righteous to God?
Can ⌞any⌟ human being be pure to his maker?’
18 “You see, God doesn’t trust his own servants,
and he accuses his angels of making mistakes.
19 How much more will he accuse those who live in clay houses
that have their foundation in the dust.
Those houses can be crushed quicker than a moth!
20 From morning to evening, they are shattered.
They will disappear forever without anyone paying attention.
21 Haven’t the ropes of their tent been loosened?
Won’t they die without wisdom?
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.