1
Then Eliphaz[H464] the Temanite[H8489]answered[H6030] and said[H559],
2
If we assay[H5254] to commune[H1697] with thee, wilt thou be grieved?[H3811] but who can[H3201]withhold[H6113] himself from speaking?[H4405]
3
Behold, thou hast instructed[H3256]many[H7227], and thou hast strengthened[H2388] the weak[H7504]hands[H3027].
4
Thy words[H4405] have upholden[H6965] him that was falling[H3782], and thou hast strengthened[H553] the feeble[H3766]knees[H1290].
5
But now it is come[H935] upon thee, and thou faintest[H3811]; it toucheth[H5060] thee, and thou art troubled[H926].
6
Is not this thy fear[H3374], thy confidence[H3690], thy hope[H8615], and the uprightness[H8537] of thy ways?[H1870]
7Remember[H2142], I pray thee, who ever perished[H6], being innocent?[H5355] or where[H375] were the righteous[H3477] cut off?[H3582]
8
Even as I have seen[H7200], they that plow[H2790]iniquity[H205], and sow[H2232]wickedness[H5999], reap[H7114] the same.
9
By the blast[H5397] of God[H433] they perish[H6], and by the breath[H7307] of his nostrils[H639] are they consumed[H3615].
10
The roaring[H7581] of the lion[H738], and the voice[H6963] of the fierce lion[H7826], and the teeth[H8127] of the young lions[H3715], are broken[H5421].
11
The old lion[H3918]perisheth[H6] for lack[H1097] of prey[H2964], and the stout lion[H3918]'s whelps[H1121] are scattered abroad[H6504].
12
Now a thing[H1697] was secretly brought[H1589] to me, and mine ear[H241]received[H3947] a little[H8102] thereof.
13
In thoughts[H5587] from the visions[H2384] of the night[H3915], when deep sleep[H8639]falleth[H5307] on men[H582],
14Fear[H6343]came[H7122] upon me, and trembling[H7461], which made all[H7230] my bones[H6106] to shake[H6342].
15
Then a spirit[H7307]passed[H2498] before my face[H6440]; the hair[H8185] of my flesh[H1320] stood up[H5568]:
16
It stood still[H5975], but I could not discern[H5234] the form[H4758] thereof: an image[H8544] was before mine eyes[H5869], there was silence[H1827], and I heard[H8085] a voice[H6963], saying,
17
Shall mortal man[H582] be more just[H6663] than God?[H433] shall a man[H1397] be more pure[H2891] than his maker?[H6213]
18
Behold, he put no trust[H539] in his servants[H5650]; and his angels[H4397] he charged[H7760] with folly[H8417]:
19
How much less[H637] in them that dwell[H7931] in houses[H1004] of clay[H2563], whose foundation[H3247] is in the dust[H6083], which are crushed[H1792]before[H6440] the moth?[H6211]
20
They are destroyed[H3807] from morning[H1242] to evening[H6153]: they perish[H6] for ever[H5331] without any regarding[H7760] it.
21
Doth not their excellency[H3499] which is in them go away?[H5265] they die[H4191], even without wisdom[H2451].