15 But my brothers are as undependable as intermittent streams,

as the streams that overflow

16 when darkened by thawing ice

and swollen with melting snow,

17 but that stop flowing in the dry season,

and in the heat vanish from their channels.

15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,

And as the stream of brooks they pass away;

16 Which are blackish by reason of the ice,

And wherein the snow is hid:

17 What time they wax warm, they vanish:

When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

15 My brothers, you have proved as unreliable as a seasonal brook

that overflows its banks in the spring

16 when it is swollen with ice and melting snow.

17 But when the hot weather arrives, the water disappears.

The brook vanishes in the heat.

15 My brothers have dealt deceitfully like a brook,

Like the streams of the brooks that pass away,

16 Which are dark because of the ice,

And into which the snow vanishes.

17 When it is warm, they cease to flow;

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.

15 But my brothers cannot be counted on.

They are like streams that do not always flow,

streams that sometimes run over.

16 They are made dark by melting ice

and rise with melting snow.

17 But they stop flowing in the dry season;

they disappear when it is hot.

15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,

As the channel of brooks that pass away;

16 Which are black by reason of the ice,

And wherein the snow hideth itself:

17 What time they wax warm, they vanish;

When it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.

15 My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a stream, as the channel of streams which pass away, 16 Which are turbid by reason of the ice, in which the snow hideth itself: 17 At the time they diminish, they are dried up; when heat affecteth them, they vanish from their place:

15 My brothers have been as deceptive as seasonal rivers, 

like the seasonal riverbeds that flood. 

16 They are dark with ice. 

They are hidden by snow. 

17 They vanish during a scorching summer. 

In the heat their riverbeds dry up. 

15 My brothers are as treacherous as a wadi,

as seasonal streams that overflow

16 and become darkened because of ice,

and the snow melts into them.

17 The wadis evaporate in warm weather;

they disappear from their channels in hot weather.

15 My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed,

like freshets that pass away,

16 that run dark with ice,

turbid with melting snow.

17 In time of heat they disappear;

when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

15 My companions are treacherous like a torrent-bed;

like a streambed of wadis they flow away,

16 which are growing dark because of ice upon them,

it will pile up snow.

17 In time they dry up, they disappear;

when it is hot, they vanish from their place.

15 But my friends aren’t faithful to me.

They are like streams that only flow for part of the year.

They are like rivers that flow over their banks

16 when the ice begins to break up.

The streams rise when the snow starts to melt.

17 But they stop flowing when the dry season comes.

They disappear from their stream beds when the weather warms up.

15 “My brothers have acted deceitfully like a wadi,

Like the torrents of wadis which vanish,

16 Which are turbid because of ice

And into which the snow melts.

17 “When they become waterless, they are silent,

When it is hot, they vanish from their place.