Eliphaz Says the Innocent Do Not Suffer

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

2“If one ventures a word with you, will you become impatient?

But who can refrain [a]from speaking?

3“Behold, you have taught many,

And you have strengthened weak hands.

4“Your words have helped the stumbling to stand,

And you have strengthened [b]feeble knees.

5“But now it comes to you, and you are impatient;

It touches you, and you are horrified.

6“Is your [c]fear of God not your confidence,

And the integrity of your ways your hope?

7“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent?

Or where were the upright destroyed?

8“According to what I have seen, those who [d]plow wrongdoing

And those who sow trouble harvest it.

9“By the breath of God they perish,

And by the [e]blast of His anger they come to an end.

10“The roaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,

And the teeth of the young lions are broken out.

11“The lion perishes for lack of prey,

And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.

12“Now a word was brought to me secretly,

And my ear received a whisper of it.

13“Amid disquieting thoughts from visions of the night,

When deep sleep falls on people,

14Dread came upon me, and trembling,

And made [f]all my bones shake.

15“Then a [g]spirit passed by my face;

The hair of my flesh stood up.

16“Something was standing still, but I could not recognize its appearance;

A form was before my eyes;

There was silence, then I heard a voice:

17‘Can mankind be righteous [h]before God?

Can a man be pure [i]before his Maker?

18‘He puts no trust even in His servants;

And He accuses His angels of error.

19‘How much more those who live in houses of clay,

Whose foundation is in the dust,

Who are crushed before the moth!

20‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces;

Unregarded, they perish forever.

21‘Is their tent-cord not pulled out within them?

They die, yet without wisdom.’