¹²‘Now a word came stealing to me,
   my ear received the whisper of it.
¹³Amid thoughts from visions of the night,
   when deep sleep falls on mortals,
¹⁴dread came upon me, and trembling,
   which made all my bones shake.
¹⁵A spirit glided past my face;
   the hair of my flesh bristled.
¹⁶It stood still,
   but I could not discern its appearance.
A form was before my eyes;
   there was silence, then I heard a voice:
¹⁷“Can mortals be righteous before^* God?
   Can human beings be pure before^* their Maker?
¹⁸Even in his servants he puts no trust,
   and his angels he charges with error;
¹⁹how much more those who live in houses of clay,
   whose foundation is in the dust,
   who are crushed like a moth.
²⁰Between morning and evening they are destroyed;
   they perish for ever without any regarding it.
²¹Their tent-cord is plucked up within them,
   and they die devoid of wisdom.”