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Job 4
Easy-to-Read Version
Job 4
Easy-to-Read Version
Eliphaz Speaks
4 Eliphaz from Teman answered:
2 “I must say something.
Would it upset you if I speak?
3 Job, you have taught many people.
You encouraged those who were ready to quit.
4 Your words helped those who were ready to fall.
You gave strength to those who could not stand by themselves.
5 But now trouble comes to you,
and you are discouraged.
Trouble hits you,
and you are upset.
6 You worship God.
You trust him.
You are a good man,
so let that be your hope.
7 Can you think of any innocent person who was ever destroyed?
Do you know of any place where good people are punished?
8 Yes, I have seen people whose lives were cut short,
but they were evil troublemakers.
9 They lost the breath God gave them.
They were cut off from his breath of life.
10 They were like roaring lions,
like growling lions with broken teeth—
11 like a lioness that cannot find prey.
They died, and their cubs starved to death.
12 “I happened to hear a message.
My ears caught a whisper of it.
13 Like a bad dream[a] in the night,
it ruined my sleep.
14 It frightened me,
and I trembled down to my bones.
15 A spirit passed by my face.
The hair on my body stood up!
16 The spirit stood still,
but I could not see what it was.
A shape stood before my eyes,
and there was silence.
Then I heard a quiet voice:
17 ‘A person cannot be more right than God.
People cannot be more pure than their Maker.
18 Look, God cannot even trust his heavenly servants.
He sees faults even in his angels.
19 So surely people are worse!
They live in houses of clay[b] built on dust.
They can be crushed as easily as a moth!
20 From dawn to sunset people are destroyed.
They die—gone forever—and no one even notices.
21 The ropes of their tent are pulled up,
and they die before gaining wisdom.’
Job 4
New International Version
Job 4
New International Version
Eliphaz
4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:
2 “If someone ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?
But who can keep from speaking?(B)
3 Think how you have instructed many,(C)
how you have strengthened feeble hands.(D)
4 Your words have supported those who stumbled;(E)
you have strengthened faltering knees.(F)
5 But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged;(G)
it strikes(H) you, and you are dismayed.(I)
6 Should not your piety be your confidence(J)
and your blameless(K) ways your hope?
7 “Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished?(L)
Where were the upright ever destroyed?(M)
8 As I have observed,(N) those who plow evil(O)
and those who sow trouble reap it.(P)
9 At the breath of God(Q) they perish;
at the blast of his anger they are no more.(R)
10 The lions may roar(S) and growl,
yet the teeth of the great lions(T) are broken.(U)
11 The lion perishes for lack of prey,(V)
and the cubs of the lioness are scattered.(W)
12 “A word(X) was secretly brought to me,
my ears caught a whisper(Y) of it.(Z)
13 Amid disquieting dreams in the night,
when deep sleep falls on people,(AA)
14 fear and trembling(AB) seized me
and made all my bones shake.(AC)
15 A spirit glided past my face,
and the hair on my body stood on end.(AD)
16 It stopped,
but I could not tell what it was.
A form stood before my eyes,
and I heard a hushed voice:(AE)
17 ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God?(AF)
Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker?(AG)
18 If God places no trust in his servants,(AH)
if he charges his angels with error,(AI)
19 how much more those who live in houses of clay,(AJ)
whose foundations(AK) are in the dust,(AL)
who are crushed(AM) more readily than a moth!(AN)
20 Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces;
unnoticed, they perish forever.(AO)
21 Are not the cords of their tent pulled up,(AP)
so that they die(AQ) without wisdom?’(AR)
Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International
New International Version (NIV) 
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