Job 4:19

how much more to those who live in houses of clay, ¹  whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed ²  like ³  a moth?

how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed more readily than a moth!

‘How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!

how much less will he trust those made of clay! Their foundation is dust, and they are crushed as easily as moths.

So how much less these bodies composed of mud, fragile as moths?

How much more those living in houses of earth, whose bases are in the dust! They are crushed more quickly than an insect;

how much more those who live in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed like a moth.

How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before a moth?

how much more to those who live in houses of clay, ¹  whose foundation is in the dust, who are crushed ²  like ³  a moth?

¹ sn Those who live in houses of clay are human beings, for the human body was made of clay (Job 10:9; 33:6; and Isa 64:7). In 2 Cor 4:7 the body is an “earthen vessel” – a clay pot. The verse continues the analogy: houses have foundations, and the house of clay is founded on dust, and will return to dust (Gen 3:19; Ps 103:14). The reasoning is that if God finds defects in angels, he will surely find them in humans who are inferior to the angels because they are but dust. In fact, they are easily crushed like the moth.

² tn The imperfect verb is in the plural, suggesting “they crush.” But since there is no subject expressed, the verb may be given an impersonal subject, or more simply, treated as a passive (see GKC 460 §144.g).

³ tn The prepositional compound לִפְנֵי (lifne) normally has the sense of “before,” but it has been used already in 3:24 in the sense of “like.” That is the most natural meaning of this line. Otherwise, the interpretation must offer some explanation of a comparison between how quickly a moth and a human can be crushed. There are suggestions for different readings here; see for example G. R. Driver, “Linguistic and Textual Problems: Jeremiah,” JQR 28 (1937/38): 97-129 for a change to “bird’s nest”; and J. A. Rimbach, “‘Crushed before the Moth’ (Job 4:19),” JBL 100 (1981): 244-46, for a change of the verb to “they are pure before their Maker.” However, these are unnecessary emendations.