Job 4
International Children’s Bible
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “If someone tried to speak with you, would you be upset?
I cannot keep from speaking.
3 Think about how many people you have taught.
Think about how you have made weak hands strong.
4 Your words have comforted those who fell.
And you have given strength to those who could not stand.
5 But now trouble comes to you. And you are discouraged.
Trouble hits you, and you are terrified.
6 You should trust in your respect for God.
You should have hope because you are innocent.
7 “Think about this now: A person who has not done wrong will not die.
Honest people were never destroyed.
8 I have noticed that people who plow evil
and plant trouble harvest it.
9 God’s breath destroys them.
A blast of his anger kills them.
10 The lions roar and growl.
But the teeth of great lions are broken.
11 The lion dies because he can’t find an animal to eat.
So the cubs of the female lion are scattered.
12 “A word was brought to me in secret.
My ears heard a whisper of it.
13 It was during troublesome dreams in the night
when men are in deep sleep.
14 I was shaking with fear.
All my bones were shaking.
15 A spirit glided past my face.
The hair on my body stood up in fear.
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 man be holy in the presence of God?
Can a man be pure before the one who made him?
18 God does not trust his servants.
He even blames his angels for mistakes.
19 So he puts even more blame on people who live in clay houses.[a]
The foundations of these houses are made of dust.
They can be crushed more easily than a moth.
20 Between dawn and sunset they are broken to pieces.
They are not noticed. They die and are gone forever.
21 The ropes of their tents are pulled up.
And they die without wisdom.’
Footnotes
- 4:19 clay houses This is probably talking about people’s bodies.
Job 4
English Standard Version
Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
Yet who can keep from speaking?
3 Behold, you have instructed many,
and you have (A)strengthened the weak hands.
4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,
and you have (B)made firm the feeble knees.
5 But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;
it touches you, and you are dismayed.
6 (C)Is not your fear of God[a] your (D)confidence,
and the integrity of your ways your hope?
7 “Remember: (E)who that was innocent ever perished?
Or where were the upright cut off?
8 As I have seen, those who (F)plow iniquity
and sow trouble reap the same.
9 By (G)the breath of God they perish,
and by (H)the blast of his anger they are consumed.
10 The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,
(I)the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12 “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;
my ear received (J)the whisper of it.
13 Amid (K)thoughts from (L)visions of the night,
when (M)deep sleep falls on men,
14 dread came upon me, and trembling,
which made all my bones shake.
15 A spirit glided past my face;
the hair of my flesh stood up.
16 It stood still,
but I could not discern its appearance.
(N)A form was before my eyes;
there was silence, then I heard (O)a voice:
17 (P)‘Can mortal man be in the right before[b] God?
Can a man be pure before his Maker?
18 Even in his servants (Q)he puts no trust,
and his angels he charges with error;
19 how much more those who dwell in houses of (R)clay,
whose foundation is in (S)the dust,
who are crushed like[c] (T)the moth.
20 Between (U)morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;
they perish forever (V)without anyone regarding it.
21 Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,
(W)do they not die, and that without wisdom?’
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
