Job 15
1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
And Eliphaz the Temanite answers and says:
2 Should a wise men utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
“Does a wise man answer [with] vain knowledge? And fill his belly [with] an east wind?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches with which he can do no good?
To reason with a word not useful? And speeches—no profit in them?
4 Yes, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.
Indeed, you make reverence void, and diminish meditation before God.
5 For thy mouth uttereth thy iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
For your mouth teaches your iniquity, And you choose the tongue of the cunning.
6 Thy own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yes, thy own lips testify against thee.
Your mouth declares you wicked, and not I, And your lips testify against you.
7 [Art] thou the first man [that] was born? or wast thou made before the hills?
Are you the first man born? And were you formed before the heights?
8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
Do you hear of the secret counsel of God? And withdraw wisdom to you?
9 What knowest thou that we know not? [what] understandest thou, which [is] not in us?
What have you known, and we do not know? [What] do you understand, and it is not with us?
10 With us [are] both the gray headed and very aged men, much older than thy father.
Both the gray-headed And the very aged [are] among us—Greater than your father [in] days.
11 [Are] the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?
Are the comforts of God too few for you? And a gentle word [is] with you,
12 Why doth thy heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,
Why does your heart take you away? And why are your eyes high?
13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest [such] words go out of thy mouth?
Do you turn your spirit against God? And have brought out words from your mouth:
14 What [is] man, that he should be clean? and [he who is] born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
What [is] man that he is pure, And that he is righteous, one born of woman?
15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
Behold, He puts no credence in His holy ones, And the heavens have not been pure in His eyes.
16 How much more abominable and filthy [is] man, who drinketh iniquity like water?
Also—surely abominable and filthy Is man drinking perverseness as water.
17 I will show thee, hear me; and that [which] I have seen, I will declare;
I show you—listen to me—And this I have seen and declare,
18 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid [it]:
Which the wise declare—And have not hid—from their fathers.
19 To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.
To them alone was the land given, And a stranger did not pass over into their midst:
20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all [his] days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
All [the] days of the wicked he is paining himself, And few years have been laid up for the terrible one.
21 A dreadful sound [is] in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
A fearful voice [is] in his ears, In peace a destroyer comes to him.
22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for by the sword.
He does not believe to return from darkness, And he watches for the sword.
23 He wandereth abroad for bread, [saying], Where [is it]? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
He is wandering for bread: Where [is] it? He has known that ready at his hand Is a day of darkness.
24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
Adversity and distress terrify him, They prevail over him as a king ready for a boaster.
25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
For he stretched out his hand against God, And against the Mighty he makes himself mighty.
26 He runneth upon him, [even] on [his] neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:
He runs to Him with a neck, With thick bosses of his shields.
27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on [his] flanks.
For he has covered his face with his fat, And makes vigor over [his] confidence.
28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, [and] in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.
And he inhabits cities cut off, houses not dwelt in, That have been ready to become heaps.
29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection of it upon the earth.
He is not rich, nor does his wealth rise, Nor does he stretch out their continuance on earth.
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 does not turn aside from darkness, A flame dries up his tender branch, And he turns aside at the breath of His mouth!
31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompense.
Do not let him put credence in vanity, He has been deceived, For vanity is his exchange.
32 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
It is not completed in his day, And his bending branch is not green.
33 He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.
He shakes off his unripe fruit as a vine, And casts off his blossom as an olive.
34 For the congregation of hypocrites [shall be] desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.
For the company of the profane [is] barren, And fire has consumed tents of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
To conceive misery, and to bear iniquity, Even their heart prepares deceit.”
