Job 15
1 Then responded Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Should, a wise man, answer unreal knowledge? or fill, with the east wind, his inner man?
“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
3 Disputing with discourse that doth no good, or with speech, wherein is no profit?
Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose?
4 But, thou, wouldst take away reverence, and wouldst attain unto meditation before GOD.
But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before Him.
5 For thine own mouth would teach thine iniquity, and thou wouldst choose the tongue of the crafty.
For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.
6 Thine own mouth shall condemn thee, and, not I, And, thine own lips, shall testify against thee.
Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you.
7 The first of mankind, wast thou born? Or, before the hills, wast thou brought forth?
Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
8 In the secret council of GOD, hast thou been wont to hearken? Or canst thou attain for thyself unto wisdom?
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, and the same, is not with us?
What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 Both hoary and venerable, are among us, one mightier than thy father in days!
Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side— men much older than your father.
11 Too small for thee, are the consolations of GOD? or a word spoken gently with thee?
Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you?
12 How doth thine own heart carry thee away, and how thine eyes do roll!
Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13 For thy spirit, replieth against GOD, and thou bringest forth—out of thy mouth—words!
as you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth?
14 What is a mortal, that he should be pure? or that righteous should be one born of a woman?
What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
15 Lo! in his holy ones, he putteth not confidence, and, the heavens, are not pure in his eyes:
If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,
16 How much less when one is detested and corrupt, a man who drinketh in—like water—perversity.
how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
17 I will tell thee—hear me, Since this I have seen, I must needs declare it.
Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,
18 Which, wise men, tell, and deny not [that which is] from their fathers.
what was declared by wise men and was not concealed from their fathers,
19 To them alone, was the earth given, and no alien passed through their midst:
to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them.
20 All the days of the lawless man, he, doth writhe with pain, and, the number of years, is hidden from the tyrant;
A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
21 A noise of dreadful things, 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 hath no confidence to come back out of darkness, he, being destined to the power oft the sword;
He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.
23 A wanderer, he, for bread, [saying] Where [is it]? He knoweth that, prepared by his own hand, is the day of darkness;
He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24 Distress and anguish shall startle him, It shall overpower him, like a king ready for the onset:
Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.
25 Because he had stretched out—against GOD—his hand, and, against the Almighty, had been wont to behave himself proudly;
For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
26 He used to run against him with uplifted neck, with the stout bosses of his bucklers;
rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield.
27 For he had covered his face with his fatness, and had gathered a superabundance on his loins;
Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,
28 And had inhabited demolished cities, houses, wherein men would not dwell, that were destined to become heaps.
he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.
29 He shall not be rich, nor shall his substance continue, neither shall their shadow stretch along on 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, his young branch, shall the flame dry up, and he shall depart, by the breath of his own mouth!
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 no one trust in him that—by vanity—is deceived, for, vanity, shall be his recompense;
Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.
32 Before his day, shall it be accomplished, with, his palm-top, not covered with leaves;
It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
33 He shall wrong—like a vine—his sour grapes, and shall cast off—as an olive-tree—his blossom.
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 impious, is unfruitful, and, a fire, hath devoured the tents of bribery;
For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 Conceiving mischief, and bringing forth iniquity, yea, their inmost soul, prepareth deceit.
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”
