Job 15
1 And Eliphaz the Themanite, answered, and said:
Then Eliphaz replied to Job:
2 Will a wise man answer as if he were speaking in the wind, and fill his stomach with burning heat?
“If you were truly wise [RHQ], you would not have replied to us by claiming that you know a lot; what you are saying is just a lot of hot air [MET].
3 Thou reprovest him by words, who is not equal to thee, and thou speakest that which is not good for thee.
You should not [RHQ] be saying things that do not benefit anyone, using words that do no one any good.
4 As much as is in thee, thou hast made void fear, and hast taken away prayers from before God.
[By what you say, ] you show that you do not revere God, and you are hindering people from meditating/thinking about God.
5 For thy iniquity hath taught thy mouth, and thou imitatest the tongue of blasphemers.
[It is as though] your sins are telling you what to say; you talk like people who will not admit that they are wicked.
6 Thy own mouth shall condemn thee, and not I: and thy own lips shall answer thee.
Everything that you say [MTY] shows that you should be punished; so, it is not necessary for me to show that.
7 Art thou the first man that was born, or wast thou made before the hills?
[“Tell me do you know more than everyone else because you think that] you are the first person who was ever born? [SAR, RHQ] Were you born before the hills [were created]?
8 Hast thou heard God’s counsel, and shall his wisdom be inferior to thee?
Were you listening when God made all his plans? [SAR, RHQ] Or do you think that you are the only person who is wise?
9 What knowest thou that we are ignorant of? what dost thou understand that we know not?
(What do you know that we do not know?/You do not know anything that we do not know.) [RHQ] You do not understand [RHQ] anything that is not also clear to us.
10 There are with us also aged and ancient men, much elder than thy fathers.
My friends and I are also wise; we acquired [wisdom] from old gray-haired people, from people who were born before your father was born.
11 Is it a great matter that God should comfort thee? but thy wicked words hinder this.
God wants to comfort you, and to speak gently/kindly to you; (is that not enough for you/do you need more than that)?
12 Why doth thy heart elevate thee, and why dost thou stare with thy eyes, as if they were thinking great things?
Why do you allow yourself to be (carried away/excited) by your emotions? Why are [you very angry, with the result that] your eyes flash?
13 Why doth thy spirit swell against God, to utter such words out of thy mouth?
You are angry [IDM] with God, and so you [MTY] are criticizing/denouncing him.
14 What is man that he should be without spot, and he that is born of a woman that he should appear just?
“(How can any person, [including you, ] be sinless?/No person, [including you], can be sinless.) [RHQ] (How can anyone on the earth be [completely] righteous?/No one on the earth can be [completely] righteous.) [RHQ]
15 Behold among his saints none is unchangeable, and the heavens are not pure in his sight.
Hey, God does not even trust his angels; he does not consider even them to be [completely] pure.
16 How much more is man abominable, and unprofitable, who drinketh iniquity like water?
So, he certainly does not [trust] abominable/disgusting and depraved/corrupt people who do evil things [as easily] as they drink water [MET].
17 I will shew thee, hear me: and I will tell thee what I have seen.
Job, listen to what I will tell you. I will declare to you what I know,
18 Wise men confess and hide not their fathers.
things that wise men have told me, truths that their ancestors did not keep hidden.
19 To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger hath passed among them.
God gave this land to those ancestors, who were truly wise; no one from another country caused them to think wrongly [IDM].
20 The wicked man is proud all his days, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain.
It is wicked people who suffer with great pain all the time that they are alive; that is what happens to those who (oppress/act violently toward) others.
21 The sound of dread is always in his ears: and when there is peace, he always suspecteth treason.
They constantly hear sounds that terrify them; while they are prospering, bandits attack them.
22 He believeth not that he may return from darkness to light, looking round about for the sword on every side.
Wicked people surely know that they will not escape from darkness/death, because [they are sure that someone] is waiting to kill them with a sword.
23 When he moveth himself to seek bread, he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
They wander around, searching for food, saying ‘Where can I find some?’ And they know that they will soon experience disasters.
24 Tribulation shall terrify him, and distress shall surround him, as a king that is prepared for the battle.
Because they are afraid of those things happening to them, they are afraid and worry that these things will come to them like [the army of] a king comes to attack [their enemies and cause them to suffer] [SIM].
25 For he hath stretched out his hand against God, and hath strengthened himself against the Almighty.
[Those things happen to them] because they (shook their fists/dared to fight) against Almighty God, and thought that they were strong enough to defeat him.
26 He hath run against him with his neck raised up, and is armed with a fat neck.
They stubbornly [IDM] rush to attack God [as though they were carrying] a strong shield [to protect themselves].
27 Fatness hath covered his face, and the fat hangeth down on his sides.
They are so fat [that they are unable to fight].
28 He hath dwelt in desolate cities, and in desert houses that are reduced into heaps.
They will live in cities that have been abandoned, cities which have become a heap of ruins.
29 He shall not be enriched, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he push his root in the earth.
But they will not remain rich very long; Everything that they own will be taken from them; their possessions will all disappear.
30 He shall not depart out of darkness: the flame shall dry up his branches, and he shall be taken away by the breath of his own month.
They will not escape from the darkness [of death]; they will be like trees whose branches are burned by fire and whose blossoms are blown away by the wind.
31 He shall not believe, being vainly deceived by error, that he may be redeemed with any price.
Since they are very foolish, with the result that they trust in things that are really worthless, then things that are worthless will be all that they get.
32 Before his days be full he shall perish: and his hands shall wither away.
Before they are old, they will wither; they will be like [MET] branches that wither and never become green again.
33 He shall be blasted as a vine when its grapes are in the first flower, and as an olive tree that casteth its flower.
They will be like [SIM] vines whose grapes fall off before they are ripe, like olive trees whose blossoms fall off before they produce any fruit.
34 For the congregation of the hypocrite is barren, and fire shall devour their tabernacles, who love to take bribes.
Wicked/godless people will not have any descendants, and fires will completely burn up the homes of [those who built those homes using] money they received from bribes.
35 He hath conceived sorrow, and hath brought forth iniquity, and his womb prepareth deceits.
They plan to cause trouble and to do evil things, and they are always preparing to deceive people.”
