Job 4:12-21 - Compare All Versions

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“A word was secretly brought to me, my ears caught a whisper of it. Amid disquieting dreams in the night, when deep sleep falls on people, fear and trembling seized me and made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. It stopped, but I could not tell what it was. A form stood before my eyes, and I heard a hushed voice: ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can even a strong man be more pure than his Maker? If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth! Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever. Are not the cords of their tent pulled up, so that they die without wisdom?’

“Now a word was brought to me stealthily; my ear received the whisper of it. Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh stood up. It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice: ‘Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? Even in his servants he puts no trust, and his angels he charges with error; how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like the moth. Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them, do they not die, and that without wisdom?’

“This truth was given to me in secret, as though whispered in my ear. It came to me in a disturbing vision at night, when people are in a deep sleep. Fear gripped me, and my bones trembled. A spirit swept past my face, and my hair stood on end. The spirit stopped, but I couldn’t see its shape. There was a form before my eyes. In the silence I heard a voice say, ‘Can a mortal be innocent before God? Can anyone be pure before the Creator?’ “If God does not trust his own angels and has charged his messengers with foolishness, how much less will he trust people made of clay! They are made of dust, crushed as easily as a moth. They are alive in the morning but dead by evening, gone forever without a trace. Their tent-cords are pulled and the tent collapses, and they die in ignorance.

A word was brought to me in secret; my ears caught a whisper of it.  Among unsettling thoughts from visions in the night,  when deep sleep  comes over men, fear and trembling came over me  and made all my bones shake. I felt a draft  on my face, and the hair on my body stood up. A figure stood there, but I could not recognize its appearance; a form loomed before my eyes. I heard a whispering voice: “Can a mortal be righteous before God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? ”  If God puts no trust in his servants and he charges his angels with foolishness,  , how much more those who dwell in clay houses,  whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth! They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk; they perish forever while no one notices.  Are their tent cords not pulled up? They die without wisdom.

Now a thing was secretly brought to me, And mine ear received a little thereof. In thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth on men, Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, But I could not discern the form thereof: An image was before mine eyes, There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his maker? Behold, he put no trust in his servants; And his angels he charged with folly: How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Which are crushed before the moth? They are destroyed from morning to evening: They perish for ever without any regarding it. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? They die, even without wisdom.

“Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it. In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up. It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; There was silence; Then I heard a voice saying: ‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker? If He puts no trust in His servants, If He charges His angels with error, How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before a moth? They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; They perish forever, with no one regarding. Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom.’

“A word came to me in secret— a mere whisper of a word, but I heard it clearly. It came in a scary dream one night, after I had fallen into a deep, deep sleep. Dread stared me in the face, and Terror. I was scared to death—I shook from head to foot. A spirit glided right in front of me— the hair on my head stood on end. I couldn’t tell what it was that appeared there— a blur . . . and then I heard a muffled voice: “‘How can mere mortals be more righteous than God? How can humans be purer than their Creator? Why, God doesn’t even trust his own servants, doesn’t even cheer his angels, So how much less these bodies composed of mud, fragile as moths? These bodies of ours are here today and gone tomorrow, and no one even notices—gone without a trace. When the tent stakes are ripped up, the tent collapses— we die and are never the wiser for having lived.’”

¶“Now a word was brought to me secretly, And my ear received a whisper of it. “Amid disquieting thoughts from visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on people, Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made all my bones shake. “Then a spirit passed by my face; The hair of my flesh stood up. “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: ‘Can mankind be righteous before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? ‘He puts no trust even in His servants; And He accuses His angels of error. ‘How much more those who live in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! ‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces; Unregarded, they perish forever. ‘Is their tent-cord not pulled out within them? They die, yet without wisdom.’

¶“Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it. “Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, Dread and trembling came upon me, Which made all my bones shake. “Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my skin stood on end! “The spirit stood still, but I could not discern its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, and then I heard a voice, saying: ‘Can [mortal] man be just before God or be more righteous than He? Can a man be pure before his Maker or be more cleansed than He? [1 John 1:7; Rev 1:5] ‘God puts no trust or confidence, even in His [heavenly] servants, And He charges His angels with error. ‘How much more [will He blame and charge] those who dwell in houses (bodies) of clay, Whose foundations are in the dust, Who are crushed like a moth. ‘Between morning and evening they are broken in pieces and destroyed; Unobserved and unnoticed, they perish forever. ‘Is not their tent-cord drawn up within them [so that the tent collapses]? Do they not die, and yet without [acquiring] wisdom?’

“Now a word was secretly brought to me, and my ear caught a whisper of it. In the troubling thoughts of the dreams in the night when a deep sleep falls on men, a trembling gripped me – and a terror! – and made all my bones shake. Then a breath of air passes by my face; it makes the hair of my flesh stand up. It stands still, but I cannot recognize its appearance; an image is before my eyes, and I hear a murmuring voice: “Is a mortal man righteous before God? Or a man pure before his Creator? If God puts no trust in his servants and attributes folly to his angels, how much more to those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth? They are destroyed between morning and evening; they perish forever without anyone regarding it. Is not their excess wealth taken away from them? They die, yet without attaining wisdom.