Job 15

Eliphaz Says Job Presumes Much

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite ^{▼▼ Lit answered and said}responded, 2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
^bAnd fill ^{▼▼ Lit his belly}himself with the east wind?
3 “Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which are not profitable?
4 “Indeed, you do away with ^{▼▼ Lit fear}reverence
And hinder meditation before God.
5 “For ^eyour guilt teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of ^fthe crafty.
6 “Your ^gown mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.

7 “Were you the first man to be born,
Or ^hwere you brought forth before the hills?
8 “Do you hear the ⁱsecret counsel of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?
9 ^j“What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that ^{▼▼ Lit is not within us?}we do not?
10 “Both the ^lgray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.
11 “Are ^mthe consolations of God too small for you,
Even the ⁿword spoken gently with you?
12 “Why does your ^oheart carry you away?
And why do your eyes flash,
13 That you should turn your spirit against God
And allow such words to go out of your mouth?
14 “What is man, that ^phe should be pure,
Or ^qhe who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 “Behold, He puts no trust in His ^rholy ones,
And the ^sheavens are not pure in His sight;
16 How much less one who is ^tdetestable and corrupt,
Man, who ^udrinks iniquity like water!

What Eliphaz Has Seen of Life

17 “I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare;
18 What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from ^vtheir fathers,
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them.
20 “The wicked man writhes ^win pain all his days,
And ^{▼▼ Lit the number of years are}numbered are the years ^ystored up for the ruthless.
21 ^{▼▼ Lit A sound of terrors is}“Sounds of ^aaterror are in his ears;
^abWhile at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
22 “He does not believe that he will ^acreturn from darkness,
And he is destined for ^adthe sword.
23 “He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of ^aedarkness is ^{▼▼ Lit ready at his hand}at hand.
24 “Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself ^agarrogantly against ^{▼▼ Heb Shaddai}the Almighty.
26 “He rushes ^{▼▼ Lit with a stiff neck}headlong at Him
With ^{▼▼ Lit the thick-bossed shields}his massive shield.
27 “For he has ^akcovered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh.
28 “He has ^allived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ^{▼▼ Or heaps}ruins.
29 “He ^anwill not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not bend down to the ground.
30 “He will ^aonot ^{▼▼ Lit turn aside}escape from darkness;
The ^aqflame will wither his shoots,
And by ^arthe breath of His mouth he will go away.
31 “Let him not ^astrust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his ^{▼▼ Lit exchange}reward.
32 “It will be accomplished ^aubefore his time,
And his palm ^avbranch will not be green.
33 “He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will ^awcast off his flower like the olive tree.
34 “For the company of ^axthe godless is barren,
And fire consumes ^aythe tents of ^{▼▼ Lit a bribe}the corrupt.
35 “They ^baconceive ^{▼▼ Or pain}mischief and bring forth iniquity,
And their ^{▼▼ Lit belly}mind prepares deception.”