Eliphaz Says Job Presumes Much

15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge,
(A)And fill [a]himself with the east wind?
Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which do not benefit?
Indeed, you do away with [b]reverence,
And hinder meditation before God.
For (B)your wrongdoing teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of (C)the cunning.
Your (D)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.

“Were you the first person to be born,
Or (E)were you brought forth before the hills?
Do you hear the (F)secret discussion of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?
(G)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that [c]we do not?
10 Both the (H)gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.
11 Are (I)the consolations of God too little for you,
Or the (J)word spoken gently to you?
12 Why does your (K)heart take you away?
And why do your eyes wink,
13 That you can turn your spirit against God
And produce such words from your mouth?
14 What is man, that (L)he would be pure,
Or (M)he who is born of a woman, that he would be righteous?
15 Behold, He has no trust in His (N)holy ones,
And the (O)heavens are not pure in His sight;
16 How much less one who is (P)detestable and corrupt:
A person who (Q)drinks [d]malice 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 people have told,
And have not concealed from (R)their fathers,
19 To whom alone the land was given,
And no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked person writhes (S)in pain all his days,
And the [e]years (T)reserved for the ruthless are numbered.
21 [f]Sounds of (U)terror are in his ears;
(V)While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
22 He does not believe that he will (W)return from darkness,
And he is destined for (X)the sword.
23 He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of (Y)darkness is [g]at hand.
24 Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
25 Because he has reached out with his hand against God,
And is (Z)arrogant toward [h]the Almighty.
26 He rushes [i]headlong at Him
With his [j]massive shield.
27 For he has (AA)covered his face with his fat,
And [k]put fat on his waist.
28 He has (AB)lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become [l]ruins.
29 He (AC)will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his property will not stretch out on the earth.
30 He will (AD)not [m]escape from darkness;
The (AE)flame will dry up his shoot,
And he will go away by (AF)the breath of His mouth.
31 Let him not (AG)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For his [n]reward will be emptiness.
32 It will be accomplished (AH)before his time,
And his palm (AI)branch will not be green.
33 He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will (AJ)cast off his flower like the olive tree.
34 For the company of (AK)the godless is barren,
And fire consumes (AL)the tents of [o]the corrupt.
35 They (AM)conceive [p]harm and give birth to wrongdoing,
And their [q]mind prepares deception.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 15:2 Lit his belly
  2. Job 15:4 Lit fear
  3. Job 15:9 Lit is not within us?
  4. Job 15:16 Or injustice
  5. Job 15:20 Lit number of years are reserved for
  6. Job 15:21 Lit A sound of terrors is
  7. Job 15:23 Lit ready at his hand
  8. Job 15:25 Heb Shaddai
  9. Job 15:26 Lit with a stiff neck
  10. Job 15:26 Lit thick-bossed shields
  11. Job 15:27 Lit made
  12. Job 15:28 Or heaps
  13. Job 15:30 Lit turn aside
  14. Job 15:31 Lit exchange
  15. Job 15:34 Lit a bribe
  16. Job 15:35 Or pain
  17. Job 15:35 Lit belly

Foundations for Living

And I, brothers and sisters, could not speak to you as (A)spiritual people, but only as (B)fleshly, as to (C)infants in Christ. I gave you (D)milk to drink, not solid food; for you (E)were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is (F)jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking (G)like ordinary people? For when (H)one person says, “I am [a]with Paul,” and another, “I am [b]with Apollos,” are you not ordinary (I)people?

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? (J)Servants through whom you believed, even (K)as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. (L)I planted, (M)Apollos watered, but (N)God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one; but each will (O)receive his own [c]reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s (P)fellow workers; you are God’s [d](Q)field, God’s (R)building.

10 According to (S)the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder (T)I laid a foundation, and (U)another is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no one can lay a (V)foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 (W)each one’s work will become evident; for (X)the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test [e]the quality of each one’s work. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will (Y)receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only (Z)so as through fire.

16 (AA)Do you not know that (AB)you are a [f]temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys the [g]temple of God, God will destroy [h]that person; for the [i]temple of God is holy, [j]and that is what you are.

18 (AC)Take care that no one deceives himself. (AD)If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in (AE)this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 19 For (AF)the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the sight of God. For it is written: “He is (AG)the one who catches the wise by their craftiness”; 20 and again, “(AH)The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are useless.” 21 So then, (AI)no one is to be boasting in people. For (AJ)all things belong to you, 22 (AK)whether Paul or Apollos or [k]Cephas, or the world or (AL)life or death, or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23 and (AM)you belong to Christ, and (AN)Christ belongs to God.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 3:4 Lit of
  2. 1 Corinthians 3:4 Lit of
  3. 1 Corinthians 3:8 Or wages
  4. 1 Corinthians 3:9 Or cultivated land
  5. 1 Corinthians 3:13 Lit of what sort each man’s work is
  6. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Or sanctuary
  7. 1 Corinthians 3:17 Or sanctuary
  8. 1 Corinthians 3:17 Lit this
  9. 1 Corinthians 3:17 Or sanctuary
  10. 1 Corinthians 3:17 Lit who you are
  11. 1 Corinthians 3:22 Peter’s Aramaic name

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