1Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite , and said , 2If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved ? But who can withhold himself from speaking ? 3Behold , thou hast instructed many , And thou hast strengthened the weak hands . 4Thy words have upholden him that was falling , And thou hast made firm the feeble knees . 5But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest ; It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
The Nature of Human Suffering
6Is not thy fear of God thy confidence , And the integrity of thy ways thy hope ? 7Remember , I pray thee , who ever perished, being innocent ? Or where were the upright cut off ? 8According as I have seen , they that plow iniquity , And sow trouble , reap the same. 9By the breath of God they perish , And by the blast of his anger are they consumed . 10The roaring of the lion , and the voice of the fierce lion , And the teeth of the young lions , are broken . 11The old lion perisheth for lack of prey , And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad .
The Call to Repentance
12Now a thing was secretly brought to me , And mine ear received a whisper thereof. 13In thoughts from the visions of the night , When deep sleep falleth on men, 14Fear came upon me, and trembling , Which made all my bones to shake . 15Then a spirit passed before my face ; The hair of my flesh stood up . 16It stood still , but I could not discern the appearance thereof; A form was before mine eyes : There was silence , and I heard a voice , saying , 17Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker ? 18Behold , he putteth no trust in his servants ; And his angels he chargeth with folly : 19How much more them that dwell in houses of clay , Whose foundation is in the dust , Who are crushed before the moth ! 20Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed : They perish for ever without any regarding it . 21Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them ? They die , and that without wisdom .