Job 4
Legacy Standard Bible
Eliphaz Says the Innocent Do Not Suffer
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 “If one tries a word with you, will you become weary?
But (A)who can hold back [a]from speaking?
3 Behold, (B)you have disciplined many,
And you have strengthened limp hands.
4 Your words have [b]helped the stumbling to stand,
And you have encouraged [c]feeble knees.
5 But now it has come to you, and you (C)are impatient;
It (D)touches you, and you are dismayed.
6 Is not your [d](E)fear of God (F)your confidence,
And the integrity of your ways your hope?
7 “Remember now, (G)who ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright wiped out?
8 According to what I have seen, (H)those who plow wickedness
And those who sow trouble harvest it.
9 By (I)the breath of God they perish,
And (J)by the wind of His anger they come to an end.
10 The (K)roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 The (L)lion perishes for lack of prey,
And the (M)whelps of the lioness are scattered.
12 “Now a word (N)was brought to me stealthily,
And my ear received a (O)whisper of it.
13 Amid disquieting (P)thoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,
14 Dread came upon me, and trembling,
And made the multitude of my bones shake in dread.
15 Then a [e]spirit swept by my face;
The hair of my flesh bristled up.
16 It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, then I heard a voice:
17 ‘Can (Q)mankind be right [f]before God?
Can a man be pure [g]before his (R)Maker?
18 (S)He puts no trust even in His slaves;
And against His angels He charges error.
19 How much more those who dwell in (T)houses of clay,
Whose (U)foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before the moth!
20 (V)Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;
[h]Unobserved, they (W)perish forever.
21 Is not their (X)tent-cord pulled up within them?
They die, yet (Y)without wisdom.’
Job 4
EasyEnglish Bible
Job's friend Eliphaz speaks to him[a]
4 Eliphaz, who came from Teman, decided to speak. He said this to Job:
2 ‘Please be patient and listen to what I say.
Allow me to speak, because I cannot remain quiet.
3 Listen! You have taught many people.
You have helped weak people to be strong.
4 With your words, you have saved people from danger.
You have helped people who are in trouble to be brave.
5 But now you are the person who has trouble.
You yourself are not patient.
Trouble has come to you and you feel afraid.
6 But you respect God's authority,
so you should trust him.
You live in an honest way,
so you should still hope for better things.
7 Think about this:
People who are not guilty of sin do not suddenly die.
God does not destroy people who do good things.
8 I will tell you what I have seen.
Trouble comes to people who do wicked things.
They receive the punishment that they deserve.
9 God destroys them with his breath.
His anger is like a storm that blows them away.
10 Lions are strong animals that roar loudly.
But if God breaks a lion's teeth, it cannot eat.
11 Even the strongest lion will die if it has nothing to eat.
The young lions will run away from their mother to find food.[b]
12 One night I heard a quiet voice.
Someone spoke to me and told me a secret.
13 I was asleep, but my dreams woke me.
14 I was very afraid.
Even my bones were shaking.
15 A wind was blowing over my face.
The hair on my skin stood up.
16 Something stopped and it stood in front of me.
I could not recognize its shape.
Then I heard a quiet voice say:
17 “No human is righteous when he stands in front of God.
He cannot be pure in front of his Maker.
18 God knows that even his angels make mistakes.
They may do foolish things.
19 God used clay to make bodies for us who are humans.
We came from the dust of the earth.
We are as weak as moths.
20 We are alive in the morning,
and when evening comes we may be dead.
People disappear for ever.
No one even knows about it.
21 They no longer have their valuable things.
They suddenly die and they are still not wise.” ’
Footnotes
- 4:1 Now Job's friend Eliphaz tries to explain to Job why bad things have happened. He says that God is kind to good people and he punishes people who are bad. So if bad things have happened, Job must have done wrong things.
- 4:11 Eliphaz says that God will destroy wicked people, even if they are very strong.
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