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17 ‘Can (A)mankind be right [a]before God?
Can a man be pure [b]before his (B)Maker?
18 (C)He puts no trust even in His slaves;
And against His angels He charges error.
19 How much more those who dwell in (D)houses of clay,
Whose (E)foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before the moth!
20 (F)Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;
[c]Unobserved, they (G)perish forever.
21 Is not their (H)tent-cord pulled up within them?
They die, yet (I)without wisdom.’

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Footnotes

  1. Job 4:17 Lit from
  2. Job 4:17 Lit from
  3. Job 4:20 Lit Without establishing

17     “Can a human be more righteous than God,
        a person purer than their maker?”

Its interpretation

18 If he doesn’t trust his servants
        and levels a charge against his messengers,
19     how much less those who dwell in houses of clay,
        whose foundations are in dust,
        and who are crushed like a moth?
20 They are smashed between morning and evening;
    they perish forever without anyone knowing.
21 Isn’t their tent cord pulled up?
    They die without wisdom.[a]

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Footnotes

  1. Job 4:21 Some interpreters end the quotation here rather than 4:17.