Eliphaz's First Speech
Please Be Patient and Listen
1Eliphaz from Teman said:
2Please be patient and listen
to what I have to say.
* 3Remember how your words
4have guided and encouraged
many in need.
5But now you feel discouraged
when struck by trouble.
6You respect God and live right,
so don't lose hope!
7No truly innocent person
has ever died young.
8In my experience, only those
who plant seeds of evil
harvest trouble,
9and then they are swept away
by the angry breath of God.
10They may roar and growl
like powerful lions.
But when God breaks their teeth,
11they starve, and their children
are scattered.
A Secret Was Told to Me
12A secret was told to me
in a faint whisper—
13 I was overcome by sleep,
but disturbed by dreams;
14I trembled with fear,
15and my hair stood on end,
as a wind blew past my face.
16It stopped and stood still.
Then a form appeared—
a shapeless form.
And from the silence,
I heard a voice say,
17“No humans are innocent
in the eyes of God
their Creator.
18He finds fault with his servants
and even with his angels.
19Humans are formed from clay
and are fragile as moths,
so what chance do you have?
20Born after daybreak,
you die before nightfall
and disappear forever.
21Your tent pegs are pulled up,
and you leave this life,
having gained no wisdom.”