The Meaning of Job 4:5 Explained

Job 4:5

KJV: But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

YLT: But now, it cometh in unto thee, And thou art weary; It striketh unto thee, and thou art troubled.

Darby: But now it is come upon thee, and thou grievest; it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

ASV: But now it is come unto thee, and thou faintest; It toucheth thee, and thou art troubled.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But now it is come  upon thee, and thou faintest;  it toucheth  thee, and thou art troubled. 

What does Job 4:5 Mean?

Context Summary

Job 4:1-21 - "shall Mortal Man Be More Just Than God?"
The first cycle of speeches is opened by Eliphaz. It must be remembered that he and the two others believed that special suffering resulted from and was the sign of special sin. Job's calamities, in the light of that thought, seemed to prove that he who had been considered a paragon of perfection was not what they had supposed. According to their philosophy, if only he would confess his sin, all would be well and the sun would shine again upon his path.
Eliphaz recounts a visitation, in a night vision, from the unseen world, which is described with marvelous power. Emphasis is laid on the infinite distance between God and man, and on the impossibility of a mortal being accounted just in the presence of divine purity. Of course the suggestion is that Job was suffering the penalty of sin which, though it had eluded human eyes, was naked and open before God. An angel seems dark against God's pure light, and if an angel is deficient, how much more man! [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Job 4:5 mean?

But now it comes upon you and you are weary it touches you and you are troubled
כִּ֤י עַתָּ֨ה ׀ תָּב֣וֹא אֵלֶ֣יךָ וַתֵּ֑לֶא תִּגַּ֥ע עָ֝דֶ֗יךָ וַתִּבָּהֵֽל

עַתָּ֨ה ׀  now 
Parse: Adverb
Root: עַתָּה  
Sense: now.
תָּב֣וֹא  it  comes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
אֵלֶ֣יךָ  upon  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
וַתֵּ֑לֶא  and  you  are  weary 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: לָאָה  
Sense: to be weary, be impatient, be grieved, be offended.
תִּגַּ֥ע  it  touches 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: נָגַע  
Sense: to touch, reach, strike.
וַתִּבָּהֵֽל  and  you  are  troubled 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: בָּהַל  
Sense: to disturb, alarm, terrify, hurry, be disturbed, be anxious, be afraid, be hurried, be nervous.