15:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
15:2 “Would a wise man answer with empty notions or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
15:3 Would he argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value?
15:4 But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God.
15:5 Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty.
15:6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you.
15:7 “Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
15:8 Do you listen in on God’s council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
15:9 What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have?
15:10 The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father.
15:11 Are God’s consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you?
15:12 Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,
15:13 so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?
15:14 “What is man, that he could be pure, or one born of woman, that he could be righteous?
15:15 If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,
15:16 how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks up evil like water!
15:17 “Listen to me and I will explain to you; let me tell you what I have seen,
15:18 what wise men have declared, hiding nothing received from their fathers
15:19 (to whom alone the land was given when no alien passed among them):
15:20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless through all the years stored up for him.
15:21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears; when all seems well, marauders attack him.
15:22 He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword.
15:23 He wanders about–food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
15:24 Distress and anguish fill him with terror; they overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack,
15:25 because he shakes his fist at God and vaunts himself against the Almighty,
15:26 defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield.
15:27 “Though his face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh,
15:28 he will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble.
15:29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.
15:30 He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
15:31 Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return.
15:32 Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish.
15:33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.
15:34 For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes.
15:35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb fashions deceit.”
15:1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
15:2 Should a wise man answer with the knowledge of wind, / And should he fill his belly with the east wind?
15:3 Should he argue with useless talk / And with words by which he cannot avail?
15:4 Indeed you do away with the fear of God / And restrain meditation before God.
15:5 For your iniquity instructs your mouth, / And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
15:6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; / And your own lips testify against you.
15:7 Are you the first man born? / Or were you brought forth before the hills?
15:8 Did you listen in on the secret council of God? / And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
15:9 What do you know that we do not know? / What do you understand that is not with us?
15:10 Both the grayheaded and the aged are among us, / Older than your father.
15:11 Are the consolations of God too small for you, / Or the word spoken gently to you?
15:12 Why does your heart take you away? / And why do your eyes flash,
15:13 That you turn your spirit against God / And let words go forth from your mouth?
15:14 What is mortal man, that he can be clean, / Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
15:15 Indeed, He puts no trust in His holy ones; / Even the heavens are not clean in His eyes.
15:16 How much less one who is abominable and corrupt! / How much less a man who drinks wrong like water!
15:17 I will tell you; hear me; / And what I have seen, that will I recount,
15:18 What wise men have declared, / And have not hidden, from their fathers;
15:19 To whom alone the land was given, / And no stranger passed in their midst:
15:20 For all his days the wicked man travails in pain, / And numbered years are stored up for the ruthless man.
15:21 The sound of terrors is in his ears; / While he is at peace, the destroyer will come upon him.
15:22 He does not believe that he will return from the darkness, / And he is spied out for the sword.
15:23 He wanders for bread ? where is it? / He knows that the day of darkness is ready at hand.
15:24 Distress and straits terrify him; / They prevail against him, like a king prepared for the attack;
15:25 Because he stretched out his hand against God, / And against the Almighty he acted mightily,
15:26 Running against Him with a stiff neck, / With the thick bosses of his shield;
15:27 Because he covered his face with his fatness / And gathered fat upon his loins;
15:28 And he dwelt in desolated cities, / In houses which should not have been inhabited, / Which were appointed to become heaps.
15:29 He will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure; / Nor will his produce bend down to the earth.
15:30 He will not go away from darkness; / The flame will dry up his shoots, / And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
15:31 Let him not trust in vanity, deceiving himself; / For vanity will be his recompense.
15:32 It will be fully paid before his day, / And his branch will not be flourishing.
15:33 He will shake off his unripe grapes like a vine, / And he will cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
15:34 For the company of the profane will be barren, / And fire will devour the tents of bribery.
15:35 They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, / And their heart prepares deceit.