Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
If one assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved?
But who can withhold himself from speaking?
Behold, thou hast instructed many,
And thou hast strengthened the weak hands.
Thy words have upholden him that was falling,
And thou hast made firm the {Hebrew: bowing.}feeble knees.
But now it is come unto thee, and thou {Or, art grieved}faintest;
It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.
Is not thy fear of God thy confidence,
And the integrity of thy ways thy hope?
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?
Or where were the upright cut off?
According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity,
And sow {Or, mischief}trouble, reap the same.
By the breath of God they perish,
And by the blast of his anger are they consumed.
The roaring of the lion, and the voice of the fierce lion,
And the teeth of the young lions, are broken.
The old lion perisheth for lack of prey,
And the whelps of the lioness are scattered abroad.
Now a thing was {Hebrew: brought by stealth.}secretly brought to me,
And mine ear received a whisper 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 {Or, a breath passed over}a spirit passed before my face;
The hair of my flesh stood up.
It stood still, but I could not discern the appearance thereof;
A form was before mine eyes:
{Or, I heard a still voice}There was silence, and I heard a voice, saying,
Shall mortal man {Or, be just before God}be more just than God?
Shall a man {Or, be pure before his Maker}be more pure than his Maker?
Behold, he putteth no trust in his servants;
And his angels he chargeth with folly:
How much more them that dwell in houses of clay,
Whose foundation is in the dust,
Who are crushed {Or, like}before the moth!
{Or, From morning to evening}Betwixt morning and evening they are {Hebrew: broken in pieces.}destroyed:
They perish for ever without any regarding it.
{Or, Is not their excellency which is in them removed?}Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them?
They die, and that without wisdom.
Querverweise zu Hiob 4,4 Hiob 4,4
Jehovah upholdeth all that fall,And raiseth up all those that are bowed down.
Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the {Or, tottering}feeble knees.
There is that speaketh rashly like the piercings of a sword;But the tongue of the wise is health.
Say to them that are of a {Hebrew: hasty.}fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: {Or, behold, your God! vengeance will come, even the recompense of God}behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; he will come and save you.
The heart of the wise instructeth his mouth,And addeth learning to his lips.
Then the king's {Aramaic: brightness.}countenance was changed in him, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
Pleasant words are as a honeycomb,Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
Wherefore {Greek: make straight.}lift up the hands that hang down, and the palsied knees;
so that contrariwise ye should {Some ancient authorities omit rather.}rather forgive him and comfort him, lest by any means such a one should be swallowed up with his overmuch sorrow.
Nevertheless he that comforteth the lowly, even God, comforted us by the {Greek: presence. Compare 2 Thessalonians 2:9.}coming of Titus;
And we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be longsuffering toward all.