Job 15
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “Should a wise man answer with vain knowledge, and fill himself with the east wind?
“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches with which he can do no good?
Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose?
4 Yes, you do away with fear, and hinder devotion before God.
But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before Him.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.
For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I. Yes, your own lips testify against you.
Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you.
7 “Are you the first man who was born? Or were you brought out before the hills?
Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Have you heard the secret counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we don’t know? What do you understand which is not in us?
What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men, much older than your father.
Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side— men much older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you, even the word that is gentle toward you?
Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away? Why do your eyes flash,
Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13 that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?
as you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth?
14 What is man, that he should be clean? What is he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
15 Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones. Yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight;
If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,
16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water!
how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
17 “I will show you, listen to me; that which I have seen I will declare
Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,
18 (which wise men have told by their fathers, and have not hidden it;
what was declared by wise men and was not concealed from their fathers,
19 to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them):
to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them.
20 the wicked man writhes in pain all his days, even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor.
A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
21 A sound of terrors is in his ears. In prosperity the destroyer will come on him.
Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.
22 He doesn’t believe that he will return out of darkness. He is waited for by the sword.
He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.
23 He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24 Distress and anguish make him afraid. They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God, and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty,
For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
26 he runs at him with a stiff neck, with the thick shields of his bucklers,
rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield.
27 because he has covered his face with his fatness, and gathered fat on his thighs.
Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,
28 He has lived in desolate cities, in houses which no one inhabited, which were ready to become heaps.
he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.
29 He will not be rich, neither will his substance continue, neither will their possessions be extended on the earth.
He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land.
30 He will not depart out of darkness. The flame will dry up his branches. He will go away by the breath of God’s 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 him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his reward.
Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.
32 It will be accomplished before his time. His branch will not be green.
It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and will cast off his flower as the olive tree.
He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.
34 For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief and produce iniquity. Their heart prepares deceit.”
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”
