1 T hen Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

2 I f we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself 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 falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees.

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

6 I s not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways?

7 R emember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

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

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

10 T he roaring 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 stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad.

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

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

14 F ear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

15 T hen a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up:

16 I t stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

17 S hall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?

18 B ehold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:

19 H ow much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth?

20 T hey are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it.

21 D oth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.