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Job 4
The Voice
Job 4
The Voice
4 Standing with Job and his other two friends in the trash heap, Eliphaz the Temanite tried to convince Job his suffering was temporary.
2 Eliphaz: Could you bear it if someone were to speak?
Ah, but who can hold his tongue in such a situation?
3 Look back, and think on the many you have taught;
you have strengthened the weak hands of the suffering.
4 Your words propped up the tottering;
you have strengthened mourners’ wobbly knees.
5 May my words help you in that way, now that trouble arrives and you despair.
It extends its hand, crushes you, and you are overwhelmed.
6 Isn’t your fear of God true confidence
and your unswerving commitment genuine hope?
7 Take pause; scan your memory:
Who ever died among the innocent?
And when have the righteous ever met with destruction?
8 The way I see it, those who pull the pernicious plow,
Who sow sorrow’s seeds, reap the same at harvest.
9 By God’s breath, they meet destruction;
when His anger explodes, they meet their end.
10 O the bluster of humanity!
The lion roars! The king of beasts thunders!
Still the young lions’ teeth are shattered.
11 The old lion dies for lack of prey,
and the whole pride is scattered.
12 Now, listen: a secret word was delivered to me;
my ears caught hold of a whisper.
13 In the anxiety of a nightmare—
while deep sleep falls on humans—
14 Fear took me by my right arm, terror by my left,
and they shook me, they did!—made my bones rattle.
15 Then a wind blew through, a divine breath skimming my face.
Every hair on my body stood on end.
16 It came to a stop, but I couldn’t make it out—
some form there before me, then a hushed voice breaking the silence:
17 “Can a mortal stand innocent before God?
Can a man or even a hero be pure before his Creator?”
18 If God is unsure of His own servants,
and in His holy attendants He finds fault,
19 How much more those whose bodies come from clay,
whose skeletons are dust, are crushed like a moth.
20 From morning to evening, their bodies are broken to pieces,
ground back into dirt, unseen, gone forever.
21 When the cords of their tents are pulled up,
don’t they die, none the wiser?
Job 4
New Catholic Bible
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
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)
The Voice (VOICE)
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