1 A nd Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

2 I f a word were essayed to thee, wouldest thou be grieved? But who can refrain from speaking?

3 B ehold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands;

4 T hy words have upholden him that was stumbling, and thou hast braced up the bending knees:

5 B ut now it is come upon thee, and thou grievest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

6 H ath not thy piety been thy confidence, and the perfection of thy ways thy hope?

7 R emember, I pray thee, who that was innocent has perished? and where were the upright cut off?

8 E ven as I have seen, they that plough iniquity and sow mischief, reap the same.

9 B y the breath of +God they perish, and by the blast of his nostrils are they consumed.

10 T he roar of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken;

11 T he old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the whelps of the lioness are scattered.

12 N ow to me a word was secretly brought, and mine ear received a whisper thereof.

13 I n thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men:—

14 F ear came on me, and trembling, and made all my bones to shake;

15 A nd a spirit passed before my face—the hair of my flesh stood up—

16 I t stood still; I could not discern the appearance thereof: a form was before mine eyes; I heard a slight murmur and a voice:

17 S hall man be more just than +God? Shall a man be purer than his Maker?

18 L o, he trusteth not his servants, and his angels he chargeth with folly:

19 H ow much more them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed as the moth!

20 F rom morning to evening are they smitten: without any heeding it, they perish for ever.

21 I s not their tent-cord torn away in them? they die, and without wisdom.