Job 4:7
New International Version
“Consider now: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Where were the upright ever destroyed?

New Living Translation
“Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed?

English Standard Version
“Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?

Berean Standard Bible
Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?

King James Bible
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

New King James Version
“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off?

New American Standard Bible
“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?

NASB 1995
“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?

NASB 1977
“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright destroyed?

Legacy Standard Bible
“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright wiped out?

Amplified Bible
“Remember now, who, being innocent, ever perished? Or where [and in what circumstances] were those upright and in right standing with God destroyed?

Christian Standard Bible
Consider: Who has perished when he was innocent? Where have the honest been destroyed?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Consider: who has perished when he was innocent? Where have the honest been destroyed?

American Standard Version
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?

Contemporary English Version
No truly innocent person has ever died young.

English Revised Version
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the upright cut off?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Now think about this: Which innocent person [ever] died [an untimely death]? Find me a decent person who has been destroyed.

Good News Translation
Think back now. Name a single case where someone righteous met with disaster.

International Standard Version
Now please think: Who has ever perished when they're innocent? Where have the upright been destroyed?

Majority Standard Bible
Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed?

NET Bible
Call to mind now: Who, being innocent, ever perished? And where were upright people ever destroyed?

New Heart English Bible
"Remember, now, whoever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?

Webster's Bible Translation
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off;

World English Bible
“Remember, now, whoever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Now remember, "" Who, being innocent, has perished? And where have the upright been cut off?

Young's Literal Translation
Remember, I pray thee, Who, being innocent, hath perished? And where have the upright been cut off?

Smith's Literal Translation
Remember now, who perished, he being innocent? and where were the upright cut off?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent? or when were the just destroyed?

Catholic Public Domain Version
Consider this, I beg you: who ever perished being innocent? Or when have the righteous been destroyed?

New American Bible
Reflect now, what innocent person perishes? Where are the upright destroyed?

New Revised Standard Version
“Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Remember, I pray you, whoever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright ever put to shame?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Remember now, who is innocent that is destroyed, and where are the upright who were put to shame?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? Or where were the upright cut off?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Remember then who has perished, being pure? or when were the true-hearted utterly destroyed?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Eliphaz: The Innocent Prosper
6Is your reverence not your confidence, and the uprightness of your ways your hope? 7Consider now, I plead: Who, being innocent, has ever perished? Or where have the upright been destroyed? 8As I have observed, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble reap the same.…

Cross References
Psalm 37:25
I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.

Proverbs 12:21
No harm befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.

Proverbs 13:21
Disaster pursues sinners, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous.

Psalm 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

Psalm 91:10
no evil will befall you, no plague will approach your tent.

Proverbs 11:8
The righteous man is delivered from trouble; in his place the wicked man goes in.

Proverbs 10:24
What the wicked man dreads will overtake him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

Psalm 37:28
For the LORD loves justice and will not forsake His saints. They are preserved forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off.

Psalm 92:12-13
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. / Planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.

Proverbs 14:32
The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous man has a refuge even in death.

1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.

2 Timothy 3:12
Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Matthew 5:10-12
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. / Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. / Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.


Treasury of Scripture

Remember, I pray you, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off?

who ever.

Job 9:22,23
This is one thing, therefore I said it, He destroyeth the perfect and the wicked…

Psalm 37:25
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Ecclesiastes 7:15
All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.

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Consider Cut Destroyed Destruction God-Fearing Innocent Perished Remember Righteous Think Upright
Job 4
1. Eliphaz reproves Job that the innocent do not suffer
7. He teaches God's judgments to be not for the righteous, but for the wicked.
12. His fearful vision to humble the excellency of creatures before God.














Consider now
The phrase "Consider now" serves as an invitation to reflect deeply and thoughtfully. In the Hebrew, the word used here is "זָכַר" (zakar), which means to remember or to call to mind. This is a call to engage in introspection and to recall past experiences or teachings. In the context of Job, it is an appeal to Job to think about the nature of divine justice and the fate of the innocent. Historically, this reflects the wisdom tradition in ancient Israel, where reflection and remembrance were key to understanding God's ways.

Who, being innocent, has ever perished?
The word "innocent" in Hebrew is "נָקִי" (naqi), meaning clean or free from guilt. This rhetorical question implies a belief in a moral order where the innocent are protected by God. The term "perished" (אָבַד, avad) suggests complete destruction or being lost. This reflects a common ancient Near Eastern belief that the righteous are under divine protection. However, the book of Job challenges this notion by presenting Job's suffering despite his innocence, prompting readers to explore the complexities of divine justice.

Or where were the upright destroyed?
"Upright" translates from the Hebrew "יָשָׁר" (yashar), meaning straight or right. It denotes those who live in accordance with God's laws. The word "destroyed" (כָּלָה, kalah) implies being brought to an end or consumed. This phrase reinforces the idea that the upright should not suffer destruction. In the broader scriptural context, this reflects the covenantal promise of protection for those who follow God's commandments. Yet, Job's experience serves as a counter-narrative, inviting readers to wrestle with the reality of suffering and the mystery of God's governance.

(7) Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?--He challenges Job's experience, and quotes his own in proof of the universal connection between sin and suffering. In so doing, his object may be to insinuate that Job is sinful; or, as seems perhaps more probable, and certainly more gracious, to prove to him that if he is what he was supposed to be, that itself is a ground of hope, inasmuch as no innocent person is allowed to perish. He utters here a half-truth, which, however, is after all true, inasmuch as God will never fail, though He may try, those who trust in Him.

Verse 7. - Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? The heart of the matter is now approached. Job is called upon to "remember" the long-established moral axiom, that only evil-doing brings down upon men calamities, and that therefore, where calamities fall, them must be precedent wickedness. If he does not admit this, he-is challenged to bring forward examples, or even a single example, of suffering innocence. If he does admit it, he is left to apply the axiom to himself. Or where were the righteous cut off? Was the example of "righteous Abel" (Matthew 23:35) unknown to Eliphaz? And had he really never seen that noblest of all sights, the good man struggling with adversity? One would imagine it impossible to attain old age, in the world wherein we live, without becoming convinced by our own observation that good and evil, prosperity and adversity, are not distributed in this life according to moral desert; but a preconceived notion of what ought to have been seems here, as elsewhere so often in the field of speculation, to have blinded men to the actual facts of the case, and driven them to invent explanations of the facts, which militated against their theories, of the most absurdly artificial character. To account for the sufferings of the righteous, the explanation of "secret sins" was introduced, and it was argued that, where affliction seemed to fall on the good man, his goodness was not real goodness - it was a counterfeit, a sham - the fabric of moral excellence, so fair to view, was honeycombed by secret vices, to which the seemingly good man was a prey. Of course, if the afflictions wore abnormal, extraordinary, then the secret sins must be of a most heinous and horrible kind to deserve such a terrible retribution. This is what Eliphaz hints to be the solution in Job's case. God has seen his secret sins - he has "set them in the light of his countenance" (Psalm 90:8) - and is punishing them openly. Job's duty is to humble himself before God, to confess, repent, and amend. Then, and then only, may he hope that God will remove his hand, and put an end to his sufferings

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Consider
זְכָר־ (zə·ḵār-)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 2142: To mark, to remember, to mention, to be male

now:
נָ֗א (nā)
Interjection
Strong's 4994: I pray', 'now', 'then'

Who
מִ֤י (mî)
Interrogative
Strong's 4310: Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix

has perished
אָבָ֑ד (’ā·ḇāḏ)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6: To wander away, lose oneself, to perish

when
ה֣וּא (hū)
Pronoun - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1931: He, self, the same, this, that, as, are

he was innocent?
נָקִ֣י (nā·qî)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 5355: Clean, free from, exempt

Or where
וְ֝אֵיפֹ֗ה (wə·’ê·p̄ōh)
Conjunctive waw | Interrogative
Strong's 375: What place?, when?, how?

were the upright
יְשָׁרִ֥ים (yə·šā·rîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 3477: Straight, right

destroyed?
נִכְחָֽדוּ׃ (niḵ·ḥā·ḏū)
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 3582: To secrete, by act, word, to destroy


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OT Poetry: Job 4:7 Remember now whoever perished being innocent? (Jb)
Job 4:6
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