Job 15:7–16

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^15:7“Were you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

^15:8Do you listen in on God’s secret council?¹⁵

Do you limit¹⁶ wisdom to yourself?

^15:9What do you know that we don’t know?

What do you understand that we don’t understand?¹⁷

^15:10The gray-haired¹⁸ and the aged are on our side,¹⁹

men far older than your father.²⁰

^15:11Are God’s consolations²¹ too trivial for you;²²

or a word spoken²³ in gentleness to you?

^15:12Why²⁴ has your heart carried you away,²⁵

and why do your eyes flash,²⁶

^15:13when you turn your rage²⁷ against God

and allow such words to escape²⁸ from your mouth?

^15:14What is man that he should be pure,

or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

^15:15If God places no trust in his holy ones,²⁹

if even the heavens³⁰ are not pure in his eyes,

^15:16how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt,³¹

who drinks in evil like water!³²

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Footnotes

15 The meaning of סוֹד (sod) is “confidence.” In the context the implication is “secret counsel” of the Lord God (see Jer 23:18). It is a question of confidence on the part of God, that only wisdom can know (see Prov 8:30, 31). Job seemed to them to claim to have access to the mind of God.
16 In v. 4 the word meant “limit”; here it has a slightly different sense, namely, “to reserve for oneself.”
17 The last clause simply has “and it is not with us.” It means that one possesses something through knowledge. Note the parallelism of “know” and “with me” in Ps 50:11.
18 The participle שָׂב (sav), from שִׂיב (siv, “to have white hair”; 1 Sam 12:2), only occurs elsewhere in the Bible in the Aramaic sections of Ezra. The word יָשִׁישׁ (yashish, “aged”) occurred in 12:12.
19 Heb “with us.”
20 The line reads: “[men] greater than your father [in] days.” The expression “in days” underscores their age—they were older than Job’s father, and therefore wiser.
21 The word תַּנְחֻמוֹת (tankhumot) occurs here and only in Job 21:34. The words of comfort and consolation that they have been offering to Job are here said to be “of God.” But Job will call them miserable comforters (16:2).
22 The formula “is it too little for you” or “is it too slight a matter for you” is also found in Isa 7:13 (see §133.c).
23 The word “spoken” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation.
24 The interrogative מָה (mah) here has the sense of “why?” (see Job 7:21).
25 The verb simply means “to take.” The has “carry you away.” E. Dhorme (Job, 212–13) goes further, saying that it implies being unhinged by passion, to be carried away by the passions beyond good sense (pp. 212–13). Pope and Tur-Sinai suggest that the suffix on the verb is datival, and translate it, “What has taken from you your mind?” But the parallelism shows that “your heart” and “your eyes” are subjects.
26 Here is another word that occurs only here, and in the absence of a completely convincing suggestion, probably should be left as it is. The verb is רָזַם (razam, “wink, flash”). Job and the equate it with a verb found in Aramaic and postbiblical Hebrew with the same letters but metathesized—רָמַז (ramaz). It would mean “to make a sign” or “to wink.” Budde, following the probably, has “Why are your eyes lofty?” Others follow an Arabic root meaning “become weak.”
27 The Hebrew is רוּחֶךָ (rukhekha, “your spirit” or “your breath”). But the fact that this is turned “against God,” means that it must be given a derived meaning, or a meaning that is metonymical. It is used in the Bible in the sense of anger—what the spirit vents (see Judg 8:3; Prov 16:32; and Job 4:9 with “blast”).
28 The verb is a Hiphil perfect of yasa’, “to go out, proceed, issue forth.”
29 Eliphaz here reiterates the point made in Job 4:18.
30 The question here is whether the reference is to material “heavens” (as in Exod 24:10 and Job 25:5), or to heavenly beings. The latter seems preferable in this context.
31 The two descriptions here used are “abominable,” meaning “disgusting” (a Niphal participle with the value of a Latin participle [see §116.e]), and “corrupt” (a Niphal participle which occurs only in Pss 14:3 and 53:4), always in a moral sense. On the significance of the first description, see P. Humbert, “Le substantif toʾēbā et le verbe tʾb dans l’Ancien Testament,” 72 [1960]: 217ff.). On the second word, G. R. Driver suggests from Arabic, “debauched with luxury, corrupt” (“Some Hebrew Words,” 29 [1927/28]: 390–96).
32 Man commits evil with the same ease and facility as he drinks in water—freely and in large quantities.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“Are you the first man who was born?

Or were you brought forth before the hills?

Have you listened in the council of God?

And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

What do you know that we do not know?

What do you understand that is not clear to us?

Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,

older than your father.

Are the comforts of God too small for you,

or the word that deals gently with you?

Why does your heart carry you away,

and why do your eyes flash,

that you turn your spirit against God

and bring such words out of your mouth?

What is man, that he can be pure?

Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?

Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones,

and the heavens are not pure in his sight;

how much less one who is abominable and corrupt,

a man who drinks injustice like water!

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Are you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

Do you listen in on God’s council?

Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?

What do you know that we do not know?

What insights do you have that we do not have?

The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,

men even older than your father.

Are God’s consolations not enough for you,

words spoken gently to you?

Why has your heart carried you away,

and why do your eyes flash,

so that you vent your rage against God

and pour out such words from your mouth?

“What are mortals, that they could be pure,

or those born of woman, that they could be righteous?

If God places no trust in his holy ones,

if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,

how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,

who drink up evil like water!

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Were you the first human ever born,

or were you brought forth before the hills?

Do you listen in on the council of God,

or have a monopoly on wisdom?

What do you know that we don’t?

What do you understand that is not clear to us?

Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us—

older than your father.

Are God’s consolations not enough for you,

even the words that deal gently with you?

Why has your heart misled you,

and why do your eyes flash

as you turn your anger against God

and allow such words to leave your mouth?

What is a mere human, that he should be pure,

or one born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

If God puts no trust in his holy ones

and the heavens are not pure in his sight,

how much less one who is revolting and corrupt,

who drinks injustice like water?

NLTNew Living Translation

“Were you the first person ever born?

Were you born before the hills were made?

Were you listening at God’s secret council?

Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?

What do you know that we don’t?

What do you understand that we do not?

On our side are aged, gray-haired men

much older than your father!

“Is God’s comfort too little for you?

Is his gentle word not enough?

What has taken away your reason?

What has weakened your vision,

that you turn against God

and say all these evil things?

Can any mortal be pure?

Can anyone born of a woman be just?

Look, God does not even trust the angels.

Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.

How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person

with a thirst for wickedness!

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“Were you born the firstborn of the human race?

And were you brought forth before the hills?

Have you listened in God’s confidential discussion?

And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

What do you know that we do not know?

What do you understand that is not clear to us?

Both the gray-haired and the old are among us—

those older than your father.

“Are the consolations of God too small for you,

a word spoken gently with you?

Why does your heart carry you away?

And why do your eyes flash,

that you turn your spirit against God,

and you let such words go out of your mouth?

“What is a human being, that he can be clean,

or that one born of a woman can be righteous?

Look, he does not trust his holy ones,

and the heavens are not clean in his eyes.

How much less he who is abominable and corrupt,

a man drinking wickedness like water.

KJV 1900King James Version

Art thou the first man that was born?

Or wast thou made before the hills?

Hast thou heard the secret of God?

And dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?

What knowest thou, that we know not?

What understandest thou, which is not in us?

With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men,

Much elder than thy father.

Are the consolations of God small with thee?

Is there any secret thing with thee?

Why doth thine heart carry thee away?

And what do thy eyes wink at,

That thou turnest thy spirit against God,

And lettest such words go out of thy mouth?

What is man, that he should be clean?

And he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints;

Yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.

How much more abominable and filthy

Is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

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