1Then spake Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:

2If one attempt a word with thee, wilt thou be offended? But who can refrain from speaking?

3Behold, thou hast admonished many; Thou hast strengthened feeble hands;

4Thy words have upheld him that was falling, And thou hast given strength to feeble knees.

5But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art confounded!

6Is not thy fear of God thy hope, And the uprightness of thy ways thy confidence?

7Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? Or where have the righteous been cut off?

8According to what I have seen, they who plough iniquity, And sow mischief, reap the same.

9By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of his nostrils they are consumed.

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

11The fierce lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.

12A word was once secretly brought to me, And mine ear caught a whisper thereof.

13Amid thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth upon men,

14A fear and a horror came upon me, Which made all my bones to shake.

15Then a spirit passed before my face, The hair of my flesh rose on end;

16It stood still, but its form I could not discern; An image was before mine eyes; There was silence, and I heard a voice:

17“Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall man be more pure than his Maker?

18Behold, he putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And his angels he chargeth with frailty.

19What then are they who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who crumble to pieces, as if moth-eaten!

20Between morning and evening are they destroyed; They perish for ever, and none regardeth it.

21The excellency that is in them is torn away; They die before they have become wise.”