¶ Then Eliphaz¹ the Temanite answered² and said,

If we assay to commune³ with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking⁴?

Behold,⁵ thou hast instructed many, and thou hast⁶ strengthened the weak hands.

Thy words have upholden⁷ him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees⁸.

But now it is come⁹ upon thee, and thou faintest¹⁰; it toucheth¹¹ thee, and thou art troubled.

Is not this thy fear¹², thy confidence¹³, thy hope¹⁴, and the uprightness¹⁵ of thy ways?

¶ Remember, I pray thee, who ever¹⁶ perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

Even as I have seen, they that plow¹⁷ iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same.

By the blast¹⁸ of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils¹⁹ are they consumed.

¶ The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth²⁰ of the young lions, are broken.

The old lion²¹ perisheth²² for lack of prey, and the stout²³ lion's whelps are scattered abroad.

¶ Now a thing²⁴ was secretly²⁵ brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof.

In thoughts²⁶ from the visions of the night, when deep sleep²⁷ falleth on men,

Fear²⁸ came upon²⁹ me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.

Then a spirit³⁰ passed before my face; the hair³¹ of my flesh stood up:

It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there³² was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,

Shall mortal³³ man be more just than God? shall a man³⁴ be more pure than his maker?

Behold, he put³⁵ no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly³⁶:

How much less in them that dwell³⁷ in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed³⁸ before the moth?

¶ They are destroyed³⁹ from morning⁴⁰ to evening: they perish⁴¹ for ever without⁴² any regarding it.

Doth not their excellency⁴³ which is in them go away? they die⁴⁴, even without wisdom.