Job 4

1 Then Eliphaz [a descendant of Esau] the Temanite [from Teman, a region in Edom] replied [answered, responded, and said]: word study 2 “If one ventures [tries, assays] a word [a matter, a thing] with you, will you be wearied [grieved, disgusted]? Yet who [what person] can keep from [withhold, restrain] speaking [uttering words, expressing thoughts]? word study 3 Surely [behold, look] you have instructed [disciplined, taught] many [a large number, numerous], and have strengthened [made strong, supported] their [those who are weak] feeble [weak, frail] hands [an open hand; strength, a side or share]. word study 4 Your words [of wisdom and encouragement] have steadied [upheld and supported] those who stumbled [were falling, losing their balance]; you have braced [strengthened and made firm] the knees that were buckling [bowing, becoming feeble]. word study 5 But now [at this moment, currently] trouble [adversity, affliction] has come upon you, and you are weary [exhausted, fainting]. It strikes [touches, reaches] you, and you are dismayed [troubled, alarmed]. word study 6 Is your reverence [fear of God, deep respect] not your confidence [trust, assurance], and the uprightness [integrity, moral purity] of your ways [path, journey] your hope [expectancy, cord of attachment]? word study 7 Consider [think carefully, reflect on] now, I plead [I ask, I request]: Who [what person, which one], being [having the character of] innocent [blameless, guiltless], has ever perished [been destroyed, come to an end]? Or where [in what place, at what time] have the upright [righteous, just, jashar] been destroyed [cut off, hidden]? word study 8 As I have observed [seen with my own eyes], those who plow [cultivate, scratch the ground for] iniquity [evil, wickedness, trouble] and those who sow [plant, scatter] trouble [hard work, pain, struggle] reap [harvest, gather] the same [identical consequences, similar results]. word study 9 By the breath [spirit, wind] of God [Eloah, the one true God] they perish [are destroyed, lost], and by the blast [spirit of His wrath] of His anger [wrath] they are consumed [finished, used up]. word study 10 The lion may roar [with a fierce cry], and the fierce lion [a powerful predator] may growl [with a loud voice], yet the teeth of the young lions [lion cubs] are broken [shattered or crushed]. word study 11 The old lion [fierce lion] perishes [dies, comes to an end] for lack of prey [food, torn apart], and the cubs [young, whelps] of the lioness [fierce, powerful] are scattered [separated, dispersed abroad]. word study 12 Now a word [thing, message] came to me secretly [in private, by stealth]; my ears [the ability to hear, to listen] caught a whisper [small sound, subtle rumor] of it [something quietly spoken, a faint rumor]. word study 13 In disquieting [troubling, from visions of the night] visions [revelations] in the night [period of darkness, adversity], when deep [profound, complete] sleep [trance] falls [comes upon, to fall] on men [human individuals], word study 14 fear [dread, terror] and trembling [shaking, quaking] came over me and made all my bones [the substance of my being] shudder [to shake, be affrighted]. word study 15 Then a spirit [breath of life, supernatural being] glided past my face [presence, before me], and the hair [covering of the body] on my body [flesh, physical form] bristled [stood up, became stiff]. word study 16 It stood still [came to a complete halt], but I could not discern [recognize or perceive] its appearance [visible form, likeness]; a form [image, likeness] loomed [stood, was present] before [in front of, opposite] my eyes [sight, vision], and I heard [listened to, perceived] a whispering [soft, quiet] voice [sound, utterance]: word study 17 ‘Can a [human, frail] mortal be more righteous [just, innocent] than God [Eloah, the one true deity], or a man [great man] more pure [clean, ceremonially clean] than his Maker [the one who created, formed him]? word study 18 If God [the supreme Creator, Elohim] puts no trust [faith, credence] in His servants [attendants, slaves], and He charges [sets, lays] His angels [messengers, representatives] with error [folly, foolishness], word study 19 how much more [to a greater extent] those who dwell [reside, live] in houses [dwellings, abodes] of clay [earthy, fragile material], whose foundations [base, underlying support] are in the dust [dry earth, powder], who can be crushed [bruised, broken] like a moth [a fragile, easily destroyed creature]! word study 20 They are smashed [destroyed, crushed] to pieces from [between] dawn [morning, the break of day] to dusk [evening, sunset]; unnoticed [without any regarding it], they perish [come to an end, are lost] forever [for perpetuity, everlasting]. word study 21 Are not [certainly, without a doubt] their tent cords [ropes, lifelines] pulled up [removed, plucked away], so that they die [pass away, perish] without [lacking, devoid of] wisdom [prudence, discernment, bəḥākəmāh, skill in living]?’ word study