1 Then Eliphaz, a native of Teman, responded:
2 If one tries to answer you, will you be annoyed?But who can hold words back?
3 Look, you’ve instructed manyand given strength to drooping hands.
4 Your words have raised up the falling;you’ve steadied failing knees.
5 But now it comes to you, and you are dismayed;it has struck you, and you are frightened.
6 Isn’t your religion the source of your confidence;the integrity of your conduct, the source of your hope?
7 Think! What innocent person has ever perished?When have those who do the right thing been destroyed?
8 As I’ve observed, those who plow sinand sow trouble will harvest it.
9 When God breathes deeply, they perish;by a breath of his nostril they are annihilated.
10 The roar of a lion and snarl of the king of beasts—yet the teeth of lions are shattered;
11 the lion perishes without prey,and its cubs are scattered.
12 But a word sneaked up on me;my ears caught a hint of it.
13 In profound thoughts, visions of night,when deep sleep falls on people,
14 fear and dread struck me;all of my bones shook.
15 A breeze swept by my face;the hair of my skin bristled.
16 It stopped. I didn’t recognize its visible form,although a figure was in front of my eyes.Silence! Then I heard a voice:
17 "Can a human be more righteous than God,a person purer than their maker?"
18 If he doesn’t trust his servantsand levels a charge against his messengers,
19 how much less those who dwell in houses of clay,whose foundations are in dust,and who are crushed like a moth?
20 They are smashed between morning and evening;they perish forever without anyone knowing.
21 Isn’t their tent cord pulled up?They die without wisdom.