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Job 4
Eliphaz the Temanite speaks first, and gently. He reminds Job that he once strengthened others with his words; now that trouble has reached him, he faints. His opening principle is the engine of the whole debate: the innocent are never cut off, while those who plow iniquity reap it. The second half turns eerie. Eliphaz recounts a night vision, a spirit gliding past his face, hair standing up, and a voice asking whether mortal man can be more just than God.
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
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“If someone ventures to talk with you, will you be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking?
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Behold, you have instructed many, you have strengthened the weak hands.
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Your words have supported him who was falling, you have made the feeble knees firm.
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But now it has come to you, and you faint. It touches you, and you are troubled.
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Isn’t your piety your confidence? Isn’t the integrity of your ways your hope?
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“Remember, now, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?
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According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble, reap the same.
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By the breath of God they perish. By the blast of his anger are they consumed.
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The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
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The old lion perishes for lack of prey. The cubs of the lioness are scattered abroad.
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“Now a thing was secretly brought to me. My ear received a whisper of it.
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In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
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fear came on me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.
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Then a spirit passed before my face. The hair of my flesh stood up.
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It stood still, but I couldn’t discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes. Silence, then I heard a voice, saying,
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‘Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker?
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Behold, he puts no trust in his servants. He charges his angels with error.
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How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth!
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Between morning and evening they are destroyed. They perish forever without any regarding it.
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Isn’t their tent cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.’
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Então Elifaz, o temanita, respondeu:
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“Se alguém se aventurar a falar com você, você se aborrecerá? Mas quem pode se conter de falar?
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Eis que você instruiu a muitos, você fortaleceu as mãos fracas.
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Suas palavras ampararam aquele que estava caindo, você firmou os joelhos vacilantes.
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Mas agora que isso chega a você, você desfalece. Toca em você, e você fica perturbado.
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Não é a sua piedade a sua confiança? Não é a integridade dos seus caminhos a sua esperança?
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“Lembre-se, agora, quem jamais pereceu sendo inocente? Ou onde os retos foram destruídos?
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Segundo o que tenho visto, aqueles que lavram a iniquidade e semeiam a aflição, colhem o mesmo.
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Pelo sopro de Deus eles perecem. Pela rajada da sua ira eles são consumidos.
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O rugido do leão, e a voz do leão feroz, os dentes dos leõezinhos, são quebrados.
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O leão velho perece por falta de presa. Os filhotes da leoa são espalhados.
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“Ora, algo me foi trazido em segredo. Meu ouvido recebeu um sussurro disso.
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Em pensamentos vindos das visões da noite, quando o sono profundo cai sobre os homens,
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o medo e o tremor vieram sobre mim, o que fez todos os meus ossos estremecerem.
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Então um espírito passou diante do meu rosto. Os pelos do meu corpo se arrepiaram.
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Ele parou, mas eu não consegui discernir a sua aparência. Um vulto estava diante dos meus olhos. Houve silêncio, e então ouvi uma voz, dizendo:
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‘Pode o homem mortal ser mais justo do que Deus? Pode um homem ser mais puro do que o seu Criador?
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Eis que ele não confia em seus servos. Ele acusa os seus anjos de erro.
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Quanto mais aqueles que habitam em casas de barro, cujo alicerce está no pó, que são esmagados diante da traça!
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Entre a manhã e a tarde eles são destruídos. Eles perecem para sempre sem que ninguém perceba.
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A corda de sua tenda não é arrancada de dentro deles? Eles morrem, e isso sem sabedoria.’
A doctrine and a ghost
Eliphaz argues from two authorities: his own observation ("According to what I have seen") and a dread revelation in the dark. Both point one way, no human is pure before his Maker, so suffering implies guilt.
The logic is tidy and, applied to Job, wrong, as the book's ending will declare. The reader already knows from chapters 1 and 2 that Job's collapse came "without cause," which makes Eliphaz's confident diagnosis the first crack in the friends' wisdom.
Context layers
Keep these closed by default and open them only when you want more context.
- HopeWhat biblical hope means, how it differs from optimism, and which passages show its shape most clearly.
- WisdomWhat wisdom means in the Bible, how it differs from cleverness, and where to begin reading it well.
- Fear of the LordWhat the fear of the Lord means in the Bible, how it relates to wisdom, reverence, obedience, and trust.
- Lamentations 3:21-24Key passage connected to Hope.
- Romans 5:3-5Key passage connected to Hope.
- 1 Peter 1:3-5Key passage connected to Hope.
- Proverbs 1:7Key passage connected to Fear of the Lord.
- James 1:5Key passage connected to Wisdom.
- Ecclesiastes 12:13Key passage connected to Wisdom.
- Psalms 111:10Key passage connected to Fear of the Lord.
- Luke 12:4-7Key passage connected to Fear of the Lord.
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