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 make answer with vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
3 To reason with a word not useful? And speeches — no profit in them?
Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?
4 Yea, thou dost make reverence void, And dost diminish meditation before God.
Yea, thou doest away with fear, and restrainest devotion before God.
5 For thy mouth teacheth thine iniquity, And thou chooseth the tongue of the subtile.
For thine iniquity teacheth thy mouth, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
6 Thy mouth declareth thee wicked, and not I, And thy lips testify against thee.
Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I; yea, thine 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? or wast thou brought forth before the hills?
8 Of the secret counsel of God dost thou hear? And withdrawest thou unto thee wisdom?
Hast thou heard the secret counsel of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
9 What hast thou known, and we know not? Understandest thou — and it is not with us?
What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?
10 Both the gray-headed And the very aged [are] among us — Greater than thy father [in] days.
With us are both the grayheaded and the very aged men, much elder than thy father.
11 Too few for thee are the comforts of God? And a gentle word [is] with thee,
Are the consolations of God too small for thee, and the word [that dealeth] gently with thee?
12 What — doth thine heart take thee away? And what — are thine eyes high?
Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and why do thine eyes wink?
13 For thou turnest against God thy spirit? And hast brought out words from thy mouth:
That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest [such] words go out of 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 clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
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 holy ones; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
16 Also — surely abominable and filthy Is man drinking as water perverseness.
How much less one that is abominable and corrupt, a man that drinketh iniquity like water!
17 I shew thee — hearken to me — And this I have seen and declare:
I will shew thee, hear thou me; and that which I have seen I will declare:
18 Which the wise declare — And have not hid — from their fathers.
(Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it;
19 To them alone was the land given, And a stranger passed not over into their midst:
Unto whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them: )
20 'All days of the wicked he is paining himself, And few years have been laid up for the terrible one.
The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, even the number of 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 sound of terrors is in his ears; in prosperity the spoiler shall come upon him:
22 He believeth not to return from darkness, And watched [is] he for the sword.
He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of 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 abroad for bread, [saying], Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand:
24 Terrify him do adversity and distress, They prevail over him As a king ready for a boaster.
Distress and anguish make him afraid; they prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle:
25 For he stretched out against God his hand, And against the Mighty he maketh himself mighty.
Because he hath stretched out his hand against God, and behaveth himself proudly against the Almighty;
26 He runneth unto Him with a neck, With thick bosses of his shields.
He runneth upon him with a [stiff] 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 hath covered his face with his fatness, and made collops of fat on his flanks;
28 And he inhabiteth cities cut off, houses not dwelt in, That have been ready to become heaps.
And he hath dwelt in desolate cities, in houses which no man inhabited, which were 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, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall their produce bend to 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 depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
31 Let him not put credence in vanity, He hath been deceived, For vanity is his recompence.
Let him not trust in vanity, deceiving himself: for vanity shall be his recompence.
32 Not in his day is it completed, And his bending branch is not green.
It shall be accomplished 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 grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.
34 For the company of the profane [is] gloomy, And fire hath consumed tents of bribery.
For the company of the godless shall be barren, 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 iniquity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
