16. [The spirit] stood still, but I could not discern the appearance of it. A form was before my eyes; there was silence, and then I heard a voice, saying,
17. Can mortal man be just before God, or be more right than He is? Can a man be pure before his Maker, or be more cleansed than He is? [I John 1:7; Rev. 1:5.]
18. Even in His [heavenly] servants He puts no trust or confidence, and His angels He charges with folly and error–
19. How much more those who dwell in houses (bodies) of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who are crushed like the moth.
20. Between morning and evening they are destroyed; without anyone noticing it they perish forever.
21. Is not their tent cord plucked up within them [so that the tent falls]? Do they not die, and that without [acquiring] wisdom?