Eliphaz Says the Innocent Do Not Suffer
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 “If one tries a word with you, will you become weary?
But awho can hold back from speaking?
3 Behold, ayou have disciplined many,
And you have strengthened limp hands.
4 Your words have helped the stumbling to stand,
And you have encouraged feeble knees.
5 But now it has come to you, and you aare impatient;
It btouches you, and you are dismayed.
6 Is not your afear of God byour confidence,
And the integrity of your ways your hope?
7 “Remember now, awho ever perished being innocent?
Or where were the upright wiped out?
8 According to what I have seen, athose who plow wickedness
And those who sow trouble harvest it.
9 By athe breath of God they perish,
And bby the wind of His anger they come to an end.
10 The aroaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
11 The alion perishes for lack of prey,
And the bwhelps of the lioness are scattered.
12 “Now a word awas brought to me stealthily,
And my ear received a bwhisper of it.
13 Amid disquieting athoughts from the visions of the night,
When deep sleep falls on men,
14 Dread came upon me, and trembling,
And made the multitude of my bones shake in dread.
15 Then a spirit swept by my face;
The hair of my flesh bristled up.
16 It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance;
A form was before my eyes;
There was silence, then I heard a voice:
17 ‘Can amankind be right before God?
Can a man be pure before his bMaker?
18 aHe puts no trust even in His slaves;
And against His angels He charges error.
19 How much more those who dwell in ahouses of clay,
Whose bfoundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed before the moth!
20 aBetween morning and evening they are broken in pieces;
Unobserved, they bperish forever.
21 Is not their atent‑cord pulled up within them?
They die, yet bwithout wisdom.’