1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied,
2 "Job, suppose someone tries to talk to you. Will that make you uneasy? I can't keep from speaking up.
3 Look, you taught many people. You made weak hands strong.
4 Your words helped those who had fallen down. You made shaky knees strong.
5 Now trouble comes to you. And you are unhappy about it. It strikes you down. And you are afraid.
6 Shouldn't you worship God and trust in him? Shouldn't your honest life give you hope?
7 "Here's something to think about. Have blameless people ever been wiped out? Have honest people ever been completely destroyed?
8 Here's what I've observed. People gather a crop from what they plant. If they plant evil and trouble, that's what they will harvest.
9 The breath of God destroys them. The blast of his anger wipes them out.
10 Powerful lions might roar and growl. But their teeth are broken.
11 Lions die because they don't have any food. Then their cubs are scattered.
12 "A message came to me in secret. It was as quiet as a whisper.
13 I had a scary dream one night. I was sound asleep.
14 Fear and trembling grabbed hold of me. That made every bone in my body shake.
15 A spirit glided past my face. The hair on my body stood on end.
16 Then the spirit stopped. But I couldn't tell what it was. Something stood there in front of me. I heard a soft voice.
17 It said, 'Can a human being be more right than God? Can a mere man be more pure than the One who made him?
18 God doesn't trust those who serve him. He even brings charges against his angels.
19 So he'll certainly find fault with human beings. After all, they are made out of dust. They can be crushed more easily than a moth.
20 Between sunrise and sunset they are broken to pieces. Nobody even notices. They disappear forever.
21 Like a tent that falls down, they get weak. They die because they didn't follow God's wisdom.' "