Job 15
1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
Then answered Eliphaz the Themanite, and said,
2 Should a wise man answer with arguments of wind, Or fill his bosom with the east wind?
Should a wise man utter windy knowledge, and fill his inward parts with the east wind?
3 Should he argue with speech that helpeth him not, And with words which do not profit him?
Should he reason with a speech which availeth nothing? and with words in which there is no profit?
4 Behold, thou makest the fear of God a vain thing, And discouragest prayer before him.
Yea, thou truly makest void the fear [of God], and diminishest devotion before God.
5 Yea, thy own mouth proclaimeth thy iniquity, Though thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
For thy iniquity teacheth thy mouth, so that thou choosest the language of the crafty.
6 Thy own mouth condemneth thee, and not I; Thy own lips testify against thee.
Thy own mouth must condemn thee, but not I: yea, thy own lips will testify against thee.
7 Art thou the first man that was born? Wast thou formed before the hills?
Wast thou born as the first man? or wast thou brought forth before the hills?
8 Hast thou listened in the council of God, And drawn all wisdom to thyself?
Hast thou listened to the secret counsel of God? and is wisdom therefore of little esteem with thee?
9 What dost thou know, that we know not also? What dost thou understand, that is a secret to us?
What knowest thou, that we do not know? what understandest thou, which is not with us?
10 With us are the aged and hoary-headed; Much older than thy father.
Both the grayheaded and the very aged are among us, — richer than thy father in days.
11 Dost thou despise the consolations of God, And words so full of kindness to thee?
Are the divine consolations too little for thee? and the word that was so mild with thee?
12 Why hath thy passion taken possession of thee? And why this winking of thine eyes?
Whither doth thy heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes gaze at?
13 For against God hast thou turned thy spirit, And uttered such words from thy mouth.
That thou shouldst turn against God thy spirit, and utter [such] words out of thy mouth?
14 What is man, that he should be pure, And he that is born of woman, that he should be innocent?
What is man, that he should be pure? and that he who is born of woman should be declared righteous?
15 Behold, He putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And the heavens are not pure in his sight;
Behold, in his holy ones he putteth no trust; and the heavens are not pure in his eyes:
16 Much less, abominable and polluted man, Who drinketh iniquity as water.
How much more then the abominable and corrupt, the man who drinketh like water wrong-doing?
17 Hear me, and I will show thee, And that which I have seen will I declare;
I will instruct thee, hear me; and what I have seen will I relate;
18 Which the wise men have told, And not kept concealed, as received from their fathers;
Which wise men have ever told, and have not concealed, as they obtained it from their fathers;
19 To whom alone the land was given, And among whom not a stranger wandered.
Unto whom alone the earth was given, and into whose midst no stranger ever entered.
20 “All his days the wicked man is in pain; Yea, all the years, that are laid up for the oppressor.
All his days is the wicked plagued with pain, and the number of years which are laid by for the tyrant.
21 A fearful sound is in his ears; In peace the destroyer cometh upon him.
A sound of terrors is in his ears: during peace will the waster come over him.
22 He hath no hope that he shall escape from darkness; He is set apart for the sword.
He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is looked for by the sword.
23 He wandereth about, seeking bread; He knoweth that a day of darkness is at hand.
He wandereth abroad for bread, [saying, ] Where is it? he knoweth that there is ready at his hand the day of darkness.
24 Distress and anguish fill him with dread; They prevail against him like a king ready for the battle.
Distress and anguish terrify him: they assail him with might, as a king prepared for the battle.
25 Because he stretched forth his hand against God, And bade defiance to the Almighty,
Because he had stretched out against God his hand, and strengthened himself against the Almighty;
26 And ran against him with outstretched neck, With the thick bosses of his bucklers;
[And] he had run against him, with an [extended] neck, with the thick roundings of his bucklers;
27 Because he covered his face with fatness, And gathered fat upon his loins,
Because he had covered his face with his fat, and had made thick folds of fat on his flanks;
28 And dwelt in desolated cities, In houses which no man inhabiteth, That are ready to become heaps.
And he dwelt in abandoned cities, in houses which none inhabited, which were destined to be ruinous heaps.
29 He shall not be rich; his substance shall not endure, And his possessions shall not be extended upon the earth.
[Yet] will he not remain rich, neither will his wealth endure, nor will he attain their perfection on earth.
30 He shall not escape from darkness, And the flame shall dry up his branches; Yea, by the breath of His mouth shall he be taken away.
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.
31 “Let not man trust in vanity! he will be deceived; For vanity shall be his recompense.
Let him that goeth astray not trust in vanity; for vanity will be what he obtaineth thereby.
32 He shall come to his end before his time, And his branch shall not be green.
Even before his time will it be overfull, and his branches will not be green.
33 He shall shake off his unripe fruit like the vine, And shed his blossoms like the olive-tree.
He will shake off like the vine his unripe grapes, and cast off like the olive his blossoms.
34 The house of the unrighteous shall be famished, And fire shall consume the tents of bribery.
For the assembly of hypocrites will remain desolate, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth misery, And their breast deviseth deceit.”
They conceive trouble, and bring forth wrong-doing, and their body prepareth deceit.
