Online Bible

2 “If we dare to converse with you, will you be impatient or offended?But ^awho can restrain himself from speaking?3 “Behold, ^ayou have admonished and instructed many,And you have strengthened weak hands.4 “Your words have helped the one who was stumbling to stand,And you have strengthened feeble knees.5 “But now ¹adversity comes upon you, and you are ^aimpatient and intolerant;It ^btouches you, and you are horrified.6 “Is not your ^afear of God ^byour confidence,And is not the integrity and uprightness of your ways your hope?

7 “Remember now, ^awho, being innocent, ever perished?Or where and in what circumstances were those upright and in right standing with God destroyed?8 “As I have seen, ^athose who plow wickednessAnd those who sow trouble and harm harvest it.9 “By ^athe breath of God they perish,And ^bby the blast of His anger they are consumed.10 “The ^aroaring of the lion and the voice of the fierce lion,And the teeth of the young lions are broken.11 “The ^alion perishes for lack of prey,And the ^bcubs of the lioness are scattered.

12 “Now a word ^awas secretly brought to me,And my ear received a ^bwhisper of it.13 “Amid ^adisquieting thoughts from the visions of the night,When deep sleep falls on men,14 Dread and trembling came upon me,Which made all my bones shake.15 “Then a spirit passed before my face;The hair on my skin stood on end!16 “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:17 ‘Can mortal ^aman be just before God or be more righteous than He?Can a man be pure before his ^bMaker or be more cleansed than He? 1+@John 1:7; Rev 1:518 ‘^aGod puts no trust or confidence, even in His heavenly servants,And He charges His angels with error.19 ‘How much more will He blame and charge those who dwell in ^ahouses (bodies) of clay,Whose ^bfoundations are in the dust,Who are crushed like a moth.20 ‘^aBetween morning and evening they are broken in pieces and destroyed;Unobserved and unnoticed, they ^bperish forever.21 ‘Is not their ^atent-cord drawn up within them so that the tent collapses?Do they not die, and yet ^bwithout acquiring wisdom?’