Job 15
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind,
“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
3 Reasoning with unprofitable talk, and with speeches which do no good?
Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose?
4 Yea, thou makest piety of none effect, and restrainest meditation before God.
But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before Him.
5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou hast chosen the tongue of the crafty.
For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.
6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I; and thy lips testify against thee.
Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you.
7 Art thou the first man that was born? and wast thou brought forth before the hills?
Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Hast thou listened in the secret council of God? And hast thou absorbed wisdom for thyself?
Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What knowest thou that we know not? [what] understandest thou which is not in us?
What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 Both the greyheaded and the aged are with us, older than thy father.
Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side— men much older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for thee? and the word gently spoken to thee?
Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you?
12 Why doth thy heart carry thee away? and why do thine eyes wink?
Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest words go out of thy mouth?
as you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth?
14 What is man, that he should be pure? and he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight:
If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,
16 How much less the abominable and corrupt, — man, that drinketh unrighteousness like water!
how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
17 I will shew thee, listen to me; and what I have seen I will declare;
Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,
18 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hidden;
what was declared by wise men and was not concealed from their fathers,
19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.
to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them.
20 All his days the wicked man is tormented, and numbered years are allotted to the violent.
A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
21 The sound of terrors is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer cometh upon him.
Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.
22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is singled out for the sword.
He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.
23 He wandereth abroad for bread, — where may it be? He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24 Distress and anguish make him afraid; they prevail against him, as a king ready for the battle.
Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.
25 For he hath stretched out his hand against God, and strengthened himself against the Almighty:
For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
26 He runneth against him, with [outstretched] neck, with the thick bosses of his bucklers;
rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield.
27 For he hath covered his face with his fatness, and gathered fat upon [his] flanks.
Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,
28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, in houses that no man inhabiteth, which are destined to become heaps.
he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.
29 He shall not become rich, neither shall his substance continue, and their possessions shall not extend upon the earth.
He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land.
30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches; and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
31 Let him not trust in vanity: he is deceived, for vanity shall be his recompense;
Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.
32 It shall be complete before his day, and his branch shall not be green.
It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
33 He shall shake off his unripe grapes as a vine, and shall cast his flower as an olive.
He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.
34 For the family of the ungodly shall be barren, and fire shall consume the tents of bribery.
For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”
