^1. THEN Eliphaz the Temanite [1] answered,

^2. «If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient? But who can refrain [2] from speaking?

^3. «Behold you have admonished many, And you have strengthened weak hands.

^4. «Your words have [4] helped the tottering to stand, And you have strengthened [3] feeble knees.

^5. «But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; It touches you, and you are dismayed.

^6. «Is not your [5] fear of God your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?

^7. «Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?

^8. «According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it.

^9. «By the breath of God they perish, And by the [6] blast of His anger they come to an end.

^10. «The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.

^11. «The lion perishes for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

^12. «Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it.

^13. «Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men,

^14. Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made [7] all my bones shake.

^15. «Then a [8] spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up.

^16. «It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice:

^17. "Can mankind be just [10] before God? Can a man be pure [9] before his Maker?

^18. " He puts no trust even in His servants; And against His angels He charges error.

^19. "How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!

^20. " Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unobserved, they perish forever.

^21. "Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, yet without wisdom.'