Job 4:12–21

¹²Now a word came to me secretly;

my ears caught a whisper of it.

¹³In disquieting visions in the night,

when deep sleep falls on men,

¹⁴fear and trembling came over me

and made all my bones shudder.

¹⁵Then a spirit^a glided past my face,

and the hair on my body bristled.

¹⁶It stood still,

but I could not discern its appearance;

a form loomed before my eyes,

and I heard a whispering voice:

¹⁷‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God,

or a man more pure than his Maker?

¹⁸If God puts no trust in His servants,

and He charges His angels with error,

¹⁹how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,

whose foundations are in the dust,

who can be crushed like a moth!

²⁰They are smashed to pieces from dawn to dusk;

unnoticed, they perish forever.

²¹Are not their tent cords pulled up,

so that they die without wisdom?’’’