Job 4:19

How much less in

   Those who dwell in clay houses,

      Whose origin is dust,

         Who are crushed more readily than a bird’s nest?

 

I had a huge internal debate about using “which crumble before the moth” or “who are crushed more readily than a bird’s nest”.  I still am not sure of the outcome. I’ll have to look that one up again in a moment.

“How much less in” had alternatives in “how much more”, “what then of”, and “all the more so.” I followed the aspect of less trust over more folly. “What then of” actually sounds a little neutral, but I think they were avoiding the issue. Maybe the answer is in changing the previous verse from “If in His servants, God puts no trust” to “If God cannot trust His servants”, then “How much more so” becomes the clear path.

Not much variation was found in the clay houses bit, but the bit about dust had “origin” countered by the option of “foundation.” I chose origin to go back to the aspect that God made us from dust rather than that we had founded our houses on dust. The topic is not the house, but the body, so a foundation seems off.

The main alternative for crush was crumble, but I picked crushed due to the nest bit. If we move from the nest, then crumble seems much better.

One last bit before I look up my source again. One option was “crushed like a moth”, one was “crushed more readily than a moth”, one was “crushed more quickly than moths.” These I rejected as the phrase seemed to be “crumbled before a moth” in the sense that the beating of the moth’s wings causes the clay house to crumble.  I did not like the idea of crushing a moth.

Bird’s nest is a weak alternative to the crushing of a moth in my source.  Therefore, I am going to make a big change.

Job 4:18

If God cannot trust His servants,

   If He sees folly even in His angels,

Job 4:19

How much more so,

   Those who dwell in clay houses,

      Whose origin is dust,

         Who crumble before the beating of moth wings?

 

I am about to take another test that might influence my career path. Of course, I forgot I needed my phone to start and just installed an update, so hopefully it gets better from here. Looking at both of these verses, I reflect on the numerous errors I make, the amazing quantities of folly in my life, and I know that God cannot trust me to do even the smallest things right. But I know that He is the one who built my body from dust and who keeps me from being crushed before the forces of the world. I live for Him, I find success in following Him, and that is all I need.