Job 4: Whoever Perished Being Innocent?
Eliphaz speaks first, gently at first, but presses the assumption that the innocent never suffer and the guilty always reap what they sow.
Job 4 (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 (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?
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.
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.
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 form thereof: an image 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 put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly:
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.
21 Doth not their excellency which is in them go away? they die, even without wisdom.
Job 4 (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, Andthe 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 wassilence, 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.
Summary
Eliphaz the Temanite is the first of the friends to speak, and he begins almost tenderly, acknowledging that Job has strengthened many and supported the falling, and asking whether Job's own piety should not now be his confidence. But his comfort soon hardens into a theory. He appeals to his own observation: whoever perished being innocent, and where were the upright ever cut off? Those who plow iniquity and sow trouble, he insists, reap the same; they perish by the breath of God. To bolster his argument he recounts a frightening night vision in which a spirit passed before his face and a voice asked whether mortal man can be more righteous than God or more pure than his Maker. If God puts no trust even in his heavenly servants and charges his angels with error, how much less can he trust those who dwell in houses of clay, crushed like a moth, perishing between morning and evening. Beneath Eliphaz's polished words lies the assumption that will dominate all three friends: suffering is the wage of sin, and so Job's calamity must be evidence of hidden guilt. The chapter exposes how a partial truth, misapplied to a suffering friend, becomes a cruel accusation.
Voices
- Eliphaz the Temanite (speaking) — The first and most measured of the friends, who appeals to experience and a night vision to argue that the innocent do not perish and the guilty reap trouble.
- Job (addressed) — The sufferer to whom Eliphaz speaks, reminded that he once strengthened others and now must trust his own integrity, yet implicitly accused of hidden sin.
Key Verse
Job 4:7 (WEB)
“Remember, now, whoever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?
Lessons Learned
- A theology of strict retribution—suffering always means sin—cannot account for the innocent who suffer.
- Even true statements about God can wound when used to accuse the grieving.
- It is easy to counsel others in their pain with confidence we never tested in our own.
- Spiritual experiences and impressive language do not guarantee that our conclusions are right.
- Comfort can curdle into accusation. Eliphaz recalls how Job “strengthened the weak hands” (Job 4:3, WEB), yet quickly implies that Job's collapse reveals a flaw in his faith.
- Retribution theology oversimplifies suffering. “Whoever perished, being innocent?” (Job 4:7, WEB) assumes the upright never suffer, a rule Job's life will shatter.
- No one is righteous before God. “Shall mortal man be more just than God?” (Job 4:17, WEB) is true in itself, yet Eliphaz wields it to silence rather than to comfort.
- Human frailty is real, but not the whole story. We “dwell in houses of clay… crushed before the moth” (Job 4:19, WEB); the truth of our weakness must not be twisted into a verdict against the sufferer.
- How does Eliphaz begin his speech, and where does his tone start to shift?
- What is Eliphaz's core assumption about the relationship between suffering and sin?
- Eliphaz says many true things about God's holiness and human frailty. Why are they unhelpful here?
- What role does the night vision play in lending authority to Eliphaz's argument?
- When have you offered a sufferer 'correct' advice that was not actually comforting? What might you do differently?
- Eliphaz opens by recalling Job's past ministry to others (4:3-4) and even appeals to his piety as grounds for hope (4:6). But by verse 7 the comfort hardens into a thesis: the innocent never perish. The gentleness is genuine but conditional, and it gives way to a theory that condemns his friend.
- Eliphaz assumes a tight law of retribution: those who plow iniquity reap trouble, and the innocent are never cut off (4:7-9). By this logic, Job's catastrophe must be evidence of sin. The book as a whole, and the reader who knows chapters 1-2, exposes this as false.
- Statements like “Shall mortal man be more just than God?” (4:17) are true, but Eliphaz deploys them to imply Job has no standing to protest, effectively blaming the victim. Truth detached from love and from the facts of Job's case becomes a weapon rather than a balm.
- Eliphaz claims a spirit passed before him and a voice spoke in the night (4:12-16), lending his words an aura of revelation. Yet the impressive packaging cannot make a wrong application right. Help the group see that experiences must still be tested against the truth of a situation.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite honest reflection on times our counsel was accurate but cold. As leader, encourage humility, listening, and presence over quick diagnoses, and avoid letting the discussion become self-condemning.