Job 15
1 Then answered Eliphaz the Themanite, and said,
But Eliphaz the Themanite, answering, said:
2 Should a wise man utter windy knowledge, and fill his inward parts with the east wind?
Will a wise man answer as if he were speaking wind, and will he fill his stomach with fire?
3 Should he reason with a speech which availeth nothing? and with words in which there is no profit?
You rebuke with words he who is not equal to you, and you speak what is not expedient for you,
4 Yea, thou truly makest void the fear [of God], and diminishest devotion before God.
to such an extent that, within yourself, you have expelled reverence and have taken away prayers from the presence of God.
5 For thy iniquity teacheth thy mouth, so that thou choosest the language of the crafty.
For your iniquity has mislead your mouth, and you imitate the tongue of blasphemers.
6 Thy own mouth must condemn thee, but not I: yea, thy own lips will testify against thee.
Your own mouth will condemn you, not I; and your own lips will answer you.
7 Wast thou born as the first man? or wast thou brought forth before the hills?
Are you the first man who was born, or were you formed before the hills?
8 Hast thou listened to the secret counsel of God? and is wisdom therefore of little esteem with thee?
Have you heard the intentions of God, and will his wisdom be inferior to you?
9 What knowest thou, that we do not know? what understandest thou, which is not with us?
What do you know, about which we are ignorant? What do you understand that we do not know?
10 Both the grayheaded and the very aged are among us, — richer than thy father in days.
There are with us both aged and ancient men, even more senior than your fathers.
11 Are the divine consolations too little for thee? and the word that was so mild with thee?
Is it so important that God should console you? But your own depraved words prevent this.
12 Whither doth thy heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes gaze at?
Why does your heart exalt you, and why do you gaze with your eyes, as if thinking great things?
13 That thou shouldst turn against God thy spirit, and utter [such] words out of thy mouth?
Why does your spirit stir against God, so as to utter such speeches from your mouth?
14 What is man, that he should be pure? and that he who is born of woman should be declared righteous?
What is man that he should be immaculate, and that he should appear just, having been born of woman?
15 Behold, in his holy ones he putteth no trust; and the heavens are not pure in his eyes:
Behold, among his holy ones not one is immutable, and even the heavens are not pure in his sight.
16 How much more then the abominable and corrupt, the man who drinketh like water wrong-doing?
How much more abominable and useless is the man who drinks as if from the water of iniquity?
17 I will instruct thee, hear me; and what I have seen will I relate;
I will reveal to you, so listen to me; and I will explain to you what I have seen.
18 Which wise men have ever told, and have not concealed, as they obtained it from their fathers;
The wise acknowledge, and they do not leave behind, their fathers,
19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and into whose midst no stranger ever entered.
to whom alone the earth has been given, and no stranger passed among them.
20 All his days is the wicked plagued with pain, and the number of years which are laid by for the tyrant.
The impious is arrogant for all his days, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain.
21 A sound of terrors is in his ears: during peace will the waster come over him.
The sound of terror is always in his ears; and when there is peace, he always suspects treason.
22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is looked for by the sword.
He does not believe that it is possible for him to be turned from darkness into the light, for he sees around him the sword on every side.
23 He wandereth abroad for bread, [saying, ] Where is it? he knoweth that there is ready at his hand the day of darkness.
When he moves himself to seek bread, he knows that the day of darkness has been prepared for his hand.
24 Distress and anguish terrify him: they assail him with might, as a king prepared for the battle.
Tribulation will terrify him, and anguish will prevail over him, like a king who is being prepared to go to battle.
25 Because he had stretched out against God his hand, and strengthened himself against the Almighty;
For he has extended his hand against God, and he has strengthened himself against the Almighty.
26 [And] he had run against him, with an [extended] neck, with the thick roundings of his bucklers;
He has rushed against him with his throat exposed, and he has been armed with a fat neck.
27 Because he had covered his face with his fat, and had made thick folds of fat on his flanks;
Thickness has covered his face, and lard hangs down from his sides.
28 And he dwelt in abandoned cities, in houses which none inhabited, which were destined to be ruinous heaps.
He has lived in desolate cities and deserted houses, which have been turned into tombs.
29 [Yet] will he not remain rich, neither will his wealth endure, nor will he attain their perfection on earth.
He will not be enriched, nor will his basic necessities endure, nor will he establish his root in the earth.
30 He will never depart out of darkness: the flame shall dry up his shoots, and he will depart by the breath of God's mouth.
He will not withdraw from the darkness; the flame will burn up his branches, and he will be defeated by the breath of his own mouth.
31 Let him that goeth astray not trust in vanity; for vanity will be what he obtaineth thereby.
He will not believe, being vainly deceived by error, that he could be redeemed at any price.
32 Even before his time will it be overfull, and his branches will not be green.
Before his time is completed, he will pass into ruin and his hands will wither away.
33 He will shake off like the vine his unripe grapes, and cast off like the olive his blossoms.
He will be wounded like a grapevine, when its cluster is in first flower, and like an olive tree that casts off its flower.
34 For the assembly of hypocrites will remain desolate, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
For the congregation of the hypocrites is fruitless, and fire will devour the tabernacles of those who love to accept money.
35 They conceive trouble, and bring forth wrong-doing, and their body prepareth deceit.
He has conceived sorrow, and he has brought forth iniquity, and his womb prepares deceit.
