Passage

Job 4

Book: Job · NASB95

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"1. Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, 2. If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking? 3. Behold, thou hast instructed many, And thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 4. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, And thou hast made firm the feeble knees. 5. But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6. Is not thy fear of God thy confidence, And the integrity of thy ways thy hope? 7. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off? 8. According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, And sow trouble, reap the same. 9. By the breath of God they perish, And by the blast of his anger are they consumed. 10. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions, are broken. 11. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad. 12. Now a thing was secretly brought to me, And mine ear received a whisper thereof. 13. In thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falleth on men, 14. Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones to shake. 15. Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of my flesh stood up. 16. It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof; A form was before mine eyes: There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying, 17. Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker? 18. Behold, he putteth no trust in his servants; And his angels he chargeth with folly: 19. How much more them that dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth! 20. Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed: They perish for ever without any regarding it. 21. Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom." (Job 4:1-21, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, 2. “If someone ventures to talk with you, will you be grieved? But who can withhold himself from speaking? 3. Behold, you have instructed many, you have strengthened the weak hands. 4. Your words have supported him who was falling, You have made firm the feeble knees. 5. But now it has come to you, and you faint. It touches you, and you are troubled. 6. Isn’t your piety your confidence? Isn’t the integrity of your ways your hope? 7. “Remember, now, whoever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off? 8. According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity, and sow trouble, reap the same. 9. By the breath of God they perish. By the blast of his anger are they consumed. 10. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions, are broken. 11. The old lion perishes for lack of prey. The cubs of the lioness are scattered abroad. 12. “Now a thing was secretly brought to me. My ear received a whisper of it. 13. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, 14. fear came on me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake. 15. Then a spirit passed before my face. The hair of my flesh stood up. 16. It stood still, but I couldn’t discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes. Silence, then I heard a voice, saying, 17. ‘Shall mortal man be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure than his Maker? 18. Behold, he puts no trust in his servants. He charges his angels with error. 19. How much more, those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed before the moth! 20. Between morning and evening they are destroyed. They perish forever without any regarding it. 21. Isn’t their tent cord plucked up within them? They die, and that without wisdom.’" (Job 4:1-21, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2. If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold himself from speaking? ^{to: Heb. a word} ^{withhold: Heb. refrain from words?} 3. Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. 4. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. 5. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled. 6. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, thy hope, and the uprightness of thy ways? 7. Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? 8. Even as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same. 9. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. ^{by the breath: that is, by his anger} 10. The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions, are broken. 11. The old lion perisheth for lack of prey, and the stout lion's whelps are scattered abroad. 12. Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear received a little thereof. ^{secretly: Heb. by stealth} 13. In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, 14. Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. ^{came: Heb. met} ^{all: Heb. the multitude of} 15. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: 16. 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, ^{there: or, I heard a still voice} 17. Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker? 18. Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly: ^{and his: or, nor in his angels, in whom he put light} 19. How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth? 20. They are destroyed from morning to evening: they perish for ever without any regarding it. ^{destroyed: Heb. beaten in pieces} 21. Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom." (Job 4:1-21, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"1. And Eliphaz the Temanite answereth and saith:, 2. Hath one tried a word with thee?, Thou art weary! And to keep in words who is able? 3. Lo, thou hast instructed many, And feeble hands thou makest strong. 4. The stumbling one do thy words raise up, And bowing knees thou dost strengthen. 5. But now, it cometh in unto thee, And thou art weary; It striketh unto thee, and thou art troubled. 6. Is not thy reverence thy confidence? Thy hope, the perfection of thy ways? 7. Remember, I pray thee, Who, being innocent, hath perished? And where have the upright been cut off? 8. As I have seen, ploughers of iniquity, And sowers of misery, reap it! 9. From the breath of God they perish, And from the spirit of His anger consumed. 10. The roaring of a lion, And the voice of a fierce lion, And teeth of young lions have been broken. 11. An old lion is perishing without prey, And the whelps of the lioness do separate. 12. And unto me a thing is secretly brought, And receive doth mine ear a little of it. 13. In thoughts from visions of the night, In the falling of deep sleep on men, 14. Fear hath met me, and trembling, And the multitude of my bones caused to fear. 15. And a spirit before my face doth pass, Stand up doth the hair of my flesh; 16. It standeth, and I discern not its aspect, A similitude [is] over-against mine eyes, Silence! and a voice I hear: 17. 'Is mortal man than God more righteous? Than his Maker is a man cleaner? 18. Lo, in His servants He putteth no credence, Nor in His messengers setteth praise.' 19. Also, the inhabitants of houses of clay, (Whose foundation [is] in the dust, They bruise them before a moth.) 20. From morning to evening are beaten down, Without any regarding, for ever they perish. 21. Hath not their excellency been removed with them? They die, and not in wisdom!" (Job 4:1-21, YLT)

Setting

Speaker: TBD
Audience: TBD
Location: TBD
Time period: TBD

Theological reading

Patristic / early-church-father exegesis, to be added.

Key words

Theologically-loaded Greek or Hebrew words in this verse may have entries in the lexicon. Curated to roughly 100 contested terms across the corpus, not every word; see Lexicon Roadmap.

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Quoted in

Imprecatory Psalms Objection Defeater

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.