Chapter 4
| Collection: | The Book of Job and 42 Paintings |
| Author: | Fr. Antonio Oteiza |
| Type: | Painting |
| Location: | Cataloguing Room |
| Characteristics: | Acrylic paint on cardboard |
| Artwork: |
Click to enlarge |
| Description: |
Eliphaz of Teman replied: If someone were to speak to you, I do not know whether you could bear it; but can anyone hold back their words? You who instructed so many and strengthened weary arms, who with your words raised those who stumbled and supported knees that were giving way—now that it has happened to you, can you not endure it? Are you troubled now that everything has fallen upon you? Was not your reverence for God your confidence, and an upright life your hope? Can you remember an innocent person who has perished? Where has a righteous person ever been destroyed? I have only seen those who plough wickedness and sow misery reap the same. God breathes upon them and they perish; the fury of his breath consumes them. Though the lion roars and the lioness answers its call, the teeth of their cubs are torn out. The lion dies for lack of prey, and the lioness's young are scattered. A word came to me unexpectedly; I barely caught its whisper. In a terrifying vision of the night, when deep sleep falls upon men, terror seized me, a trembling that shook all my bones. A breath of wind brushed across my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. Something stood there—I could not make out its appearance—only a figure before my eyes. There was silence; then I heard a voice: “Can a man be right against God? Can a mortal be pure before his Maker? If he puts no trust in his servants and finds fault even with his angels, how can those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations lie in the dust, be pure before their Maker? Between dawn and dusk they crumble; unnoticed, they perish for ever. The cords of their tent are pulled away, and they die without ever having gained wisdom.” |
