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Job 4
International Standard Version
Job 4
International Standard Version
Eliphaz: the Innocent Don’t Suffer
4 In reply, Eliphaz from Teman answered:
2 “Will you get offended if somebody tries to talk to you?
Who can keep from speaking at a time like this?[a]
3 Look! You’ve admonished many people,[b]
and you’ve strengthened feeble hands.
4 A word from you has supported those who have stumbled,
and has strengthened faltering knees.
5 “But now it’s your turn,
and you’re the one who is worn out![c]
Now it’s striking you,
and you’re dismayed!
6 “Your fear of God has been your confidence, hasn’t it?
The integrity of your life has been your hope, hasn’t it?
7 Now please think:
Who has ever perished when they’re innocent?
Where have the upright been destroyed?
8 It’s been my experience that those who plow the soil of[d] iniquity
and those who sow the seed of[e] trouble will reap their harvest![f]
9 They perish by the breath of God;
they are consumed by the storm that is[g] his anger.[h]
10 “The lioness may roar,
and the lion cub may growl;
but even the ivory teeth of the full grown lion are broken.
11 Full grown lions die when they cannot find prey;
that’s when the lion cubs are scattered.
12 “A message was confided[i] to me;
my ear caught a whisper of it.
13 Disquieting thoughts from dreams at night;
when deep sleep falls on everyone.[j]
14 A fear fell upon me, along with trembling
that caused all my bones to shake in terror.[k]
15 A spirit glided past me
and made the hair on my skin[l] to bristle.
16 It remained standing,
but I couldn’t recognize its appearance.
A form appeared before my eyes;
At first there was[m] silence, and then this voice:
17 ‘Can a mortal person[n] be more righteous than God?
Or can the purity of the valiant exceed that of his maker?’[o]
18 “Indeed, since he doesn’t trust his servants,[p]
since he charges[q] his angels with error,
19 how much less confidence[r] does he have
in those who dwell in houses of clay;
who were formed from a foundation in dust
and can perish[s] like a moth?
20 They are defeated between morning and evening;
they perish forever—and no one notices!
21 Their wealth[t] perishes with them, doesn’t it?
They die, and do so without having wisdom, don’t they?”
Footnotes
- Job 4:2 The Heb. lacks at a time like this
- Job 4:3 The Heb. lacks people
- Job 4:5 Or impatient
- Job 4:8 The Heb. lacks the soil of
- Job 4:8 The Heb. lacks the seed of
- Job 4:8 The Heb. lacks their harvest
- Job 4:9 Or the breath of
- Job 4:9 Or anger
- Job 4:12 Or was delivered in secret
- Job 4:13 Lit. men
- Job 4:14 Or dread
- Job 4:15 Lit. flesh
- Job 4:16 The Heb. lacks At first there was
- Job 4:17 Lit. a man
- Job 4:17 The quotation possibly continues through v 21.
- Job 4:18 Cf. Job 15:15
- Job 4:18 Or lay upon
- Job 4:19 The Heb. lacks confidence
- Job 4:19 Lit. can crush them
- Job 4:21 Or remnants, left over
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)
International Standard Version (ISV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.