Job 15

Eliphaz

15Then Eliphaz the Temanite^s replied:

²“Would a wise person answer with empty notions

or fill their belly with the hot east wind?^t

³Would they argue with useless words,

with speeches that have no value?^u

⁴But you even undermine piety

and hinder devotion to God.^v

⁵Your sin^w prompts your mouth;^x

you adopt the tongue of the crafty.^y

⁶Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;

your own lips testify against you.^z

⁷“Are you the first man ever born?^a

Were you brought forth before the hills?^b

⁸Do you listen in on God’s council?^c

Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?^d

⁹What do you know that we do not know?

What insights do you have that we do not have?^e

¹⁰The gray-haired and the aged^f are on our side,

men even older than your father.^g

¹¹Are God’s consolations^h not enough for you,

wordsⁱ spoken gently to you?^j

¹²Why has your heart^k carried you away,

and why do your eyes flash,

¹³so that you vent your rage^l against God

and pour out such words^m from your mouth?ⁿ

¹⁴“What are mortals, that they could be pure,

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

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

if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,^r

¹⁶how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,^s

who drink up evil^t like water!^u

¹⁷“Listen to me and I will explain to you;

let me tell you what I have seen,^v

¹⁸what the wise have declared,

hiding nothing received from their ancestors^w

¹⁹(to whom alone the land^x was given

when no foreigners moved among them):

²⁰All his days the wicked man suffers torment,^y

the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.^z

²¹Terrifying sounds fill his ears;^a

when all seems well, marauders attack him.^b

²²He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;^c

he is marked for the sword.^d

²³He wanders about^e for food like a vulture;^f

he knows the day of darkness^g is at hand.^h

²⁴Distress and anguishⁱ fill him with terror;^j

troubles overwhelm him, like a king^k poised to attack,

²⁵because he shakes his fist^l at God

and vaunts himself against the Almighty,^m

²⁶defiantly charging against him

with a thick, strong shield.ⁿ

²⁷“Though his face is covered with fat

and his waist bulges with flesh,^o

²⁸he will inhabit ruined towns

and houses where no one lives,^p

houses crumbling to rubble.^q

²⁹He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,^r

nor will his possessions spread over the land.^s

³⁰He will not escape the darkness;^t

a flame^u will wither his shoots,^v

and the breath of God’s mouth^w will carry him away.^x

³¹Let him not deceive^y himself by trusting what is worthless,^z

for he will get nothing in return.^a

³²Before his time^b he will wither,^c

and his branches will not flourish.^d

³³He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,^e

like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.^f

³⁴For the company of the godless^g will be barren,

and fire will consume^h the tents of those who love bribes.ⁱ

³⁵They conceive trouble^j and give birth to evil;^k

their womb fashions deceit.”