Job 15
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answereth and saith: —
Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
2 Doth a wise man answer [with] vain knowledge? And fill [with] an east wind his belly?
Should a wise man answer with arguments of wind, Or fill his bosom with the east wind?
3 To reason with a word not useful? And speeches — no profit in them?
Should he argue with speech that helpeth him not, And with words which do not profit him?
4 Yea, thou dost make reverence void, And dost diminish meditation before God.
Behold, thou makest the fear of God a vain thing, And discouragest prayer before him.
5 For thy mouth teacheth thine iniquity, And thou chooseth the tongue of the subtile.
Yea, thy own mouth proclaimeth thy iniquity, Though thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
6 Thy mouth declareth thee wicked, and not I, And thy lips testify against thee.
Thy own mouth condemneth thee, and not I; Thy own lips testify against thee.
7 The first man art thou born? And before the heights wast thou formed?
Art thou the first man that was born? Wast thou formed before the hills?
8 Of the secret counsel of God dost thou hear? And withdrawest thou unto thee wisdom?
Hast thou listened in the council of God, And drawn all wisdom to thyself?
9 What hast thou known, and we know not? Understandest thou — and it is not with us?
What dost thou know, that we know not also? What dost thou understand, that is a secret to us?
10 Both the gray-headed And the very aged [are] among us — Greater than thy father [in] days.
With us are the aged and hoary-headed; Much older than thy father.
11 Too few for thee are the comforts of God? And a gentle word [is] with thee,
Dost thou despise the consolations of God, And words so full of kindness to thee?
12 What — doth thine heart take thee away? And what — are thine eyes high?
Why hath thy passion taken possession of thee? And why this winking of thine eyes?
13 For thou turnest against God thy spirit? And hast brought out words from thy mouth:
For against God hast thou turned thy spirit, And uttered such words from thy mouth.
14 What [is] man that he is pure, And that he is righteous, one born of woman?
What is man, that he should be pure, And he that is born of woman, that he should be innocent?
15 Lo, in His holy ones He putteth no credence, And the heavens have not been pure in His eyes.
Behold, He putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And the heavens are not pure in his sight;
16 Also — surely abominable and filthy Is man drinking as water perverseness.
Much less, abominable and polluted man, Who drinketh iniquity as water.
17 I shew thee — hearken to me — And this I have seen and declare:
Hear me, and I will show thee, And that which I have seen will I declare;
18 Which the wise declare — And have not hid — from their fathers.
Which the wise men have told, And not kept concealed, as received from their fathers;
19 To them alone was the land given, And a stranger passed not over into their midst:
To whom alone the land was given, And among whom not a stranger wandered.
20 'All days of the wicked he is paining himself, And few years have been laid up for the terrible one.
“All his days the wicked man is in pain; Yea, all the years, that are laid up for the oppressor.
21 A fearful voice [is] in his ears, In peace doth a destroyer come to him.
A fearful sound is in his ears; In peace the destroyer cometh upon him.
22 He believeth not to return from darkness, And watched [is] he for the sword.
He hath no hope that he shall escape from darkness; He is set apart for the sword.
23 He is wandering for bread — 'Where [is] it?' He hath known that ready at his hand Is a day of darkness.
He wandereth about, seeking bread; He knoweth that a day of darkness is at hand.
24 Terrify him do adversity and distress, They prevail over him As a king ready for a boaster.
Distress and anguish fill him with dread; They prevail against him like a king ready for the battle.
25 For he stretched out against God his hand, And against the Mighty he maketh himself mighty.
Because he stretched forth his hand against God, And bade defiance to the Almighty,
26 He runneth unto Him with a neck, With thick bosses of his shields.
And ran against him with outstretched neck, With the thick bosses of his bucklers;
27 For he hath covered his face with his fat, And maketh vigour over [his] confidence.
Because he covered his face with fatness, And gathered fat upon his loins,
28 And he inhabiteth cities cut off, houses not dwelt in, That have been ready to become heaps.
And dwelt in desolated cities, In houses which no man inhabiteth, That are ready to become heaps.
29 He is not rich, nor doth his wealth rise, Nor doth he stretch out on earth their continuance.
He shall not be rich; his substance shall not endure, And his possessions shall not be extended upon the earth.
30 He turneth not aside from darkness, His tender branch doth a flame dry up, And he turneth aside at the breath of His mouth!
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.
31 Let him not put credence in vanity, He hath been deceived, For vanity is his recompence.
“Let not man trust in vanity! he will be deceived; For vanity shall be his recompense.
32 Not in his day is it completed, And his bending branch is not green.
He shall come to his end before his time, And his branch shall not be green.
33 He shaketh off as a vine his unripe fruit, And casteth off as an olive his blossom.
He shall shake off his unripe fruit like the vine, And shed his blossoms like the olive-tree.
34 For the company of the profane [is] gloomy, And fire hath consumed tents of bribery.
The house of the unrighteous shall be famished, And fire shall consume the tents of bribery.
35 To conceive misery, and to bear iniquity, Even their heart doth prepare deceit.
They conceive mischief, and bring forth misery, And their breast deviseth deceit.”
