15
Eliphaz Accuses Job of Folly
1Then ⚓Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2“Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill himself with the east wind?
3Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?
4Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain prayer before God.
5For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6⚓Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.
7“Are you the first man who was born?
⚓Or were you made before the hills?
8⚓Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9⚓What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not in us?
10⚓Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Much older than your father.
11Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word spoken gently with you?
12Why does your heart carry you away,
And what do your eyes wink at,
13That you turn your spirit against God,
And let such words go out of your mouth?
14“What⚓is man, that he could be pure?
And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
15⚓If God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
16⚓How much less man, who is abominable and filthy,
⚓Who drinks iniquity like water!
17“I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
18What wise men have told,
Not hiding anything received⚓from their fathers,
19To whom alone the land was given,
And ⚓no alien passed among them:
20The wicked man writhes with pain all his days,
⚓And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
21Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
⚓In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
22He does not believe that he will ⚓return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.
23He ⚓wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows ⚓that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for battle.
25For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
26Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.
27“Though⚓ he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made his waist heavy with fat,
28He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.
29He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth ⚓continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
30He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And ⚓by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
31Let him not ⚓trust in futile things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
32It will be accomplished ⚓before his time,
And his branch will not be green.
33He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
34For the company of hypocrites will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35⚓They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”
15
Eliphaz
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2“Would a wise person answer with empty notions
or fill their belly with the hot east wind?
3Would they argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value?
4But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God.
5Your sin prompts your mouth;
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
6Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you.
7“Are you the first man ever born?
Were you brought forth before the hills?
8Do you listen in on God’s council?
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
9What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?
10The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
men even older than your father.
11Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
words spoken gently to you?
12Why has your heart carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,
13so that you vent your rage against God
and pour out such words from your mouth?
14“What are mortals, that they could be pure,
or those born of woman, that they could be righteous?
15If God places no trust in his holy ones,
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
16how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,
who drink up evil like water!
17“Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen,
18what the wise have declared,
hiding nothing received from their ancestors
19(to whom alone the land was given
when no foreigners moved among them):
20All his days the wicked man suffers torment,
the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.
21Terrifying sounds fill his ears;
when all seems well, marauders attack him.
22He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;
he is marked for the sword.
23He wanders about for food like a vulture;
he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24Distress and anguish fill him with terror;
troubles overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack,
25because he shakes his fist at God
and vaunts himself against the Almighty,
26defiantly charging against him
with a thick, strong shield.
27“Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh,
28he will inhabit ruined towns
and houses where no one lives,
houses crumbling to rubble.
29He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions spread over the land.
30He will not escape the darkness;
a flame will wither his shoots,
and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
31Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless,
for he will get nothing in return.
32Before his time he will wither,
and his branches will not flourish.
33He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,
like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.
34For the company of the godless will be barren,
and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.
35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb fashions deceit.”