[1] Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: [2] "If someone tried to speak with you, would you be upset? I cannot keep from speaking. [3] Think about the many people you have taught and the weak hands you have made strong. [4] Your words have comforted those who fell, and you have strengthened those who could not stand. [5] But now trouble comes to you, and you are discouraged; trouble hits you, and you are terrified. [6] You should have confidence because you respect God; you should have hope because you are innocent. [7] "Remember that the innocent will not die; honest people will never be destroyed. [8] I have noticed that people who plow evil and plant trouble, harvest it. [9] God's breath destroys them, and a blast of his anger kills them. [10] Lions may roar and growl, but when the teeth of a strong lion are broken, [11] that lion dies of hunger. The cubs of the mother lion are scattered. [12] "A word was brought to me in secret, and my ears heard a whisper of it. [13] It was during a nightmare when people are in deep sleep. [14] I was trembling with fear; all my bones were shaking. [15] A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. [16] The spirit stopped, but I could not see what it was. A shape stood before my eyes, and I heard a quiet voice. [17] It said, 'Can a human be more right than God? Can a person be pure before his maker? [18] God does not trust his angels; he blames them for mistakes. [19] So he puts even more blame on people who live in clay houses, whose foundations are made of dust, who can be crushed like a moth. [20] Between dawn and sunset many people are broken to pieces; without being noticed, they die and are gone forever. [21] The ropes of their tents are pulled up, and they die without wisdom.'
