Job 15
Names of God Bible
Eliphaz Speaks: You Are Speaking Sinfully, Job
15 Then Eliphaz from Teman replied to Job,
2 “Should a wise person answer with endless details
and fill his stomach with the east wind?
3 Should he argue with words that don’t help,
with speeches that don’t help anyone?
4 Yes, you destroy the fear of God
and diminish devotion to El.
5 Your sin teaches you what to say.
You choose to talk with a sly tongue.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I.
Your lips testify against you.
You Are Not the Only Wise Person, Job
7 “Were you the first human to be born?
Were you delivered before the hills existed?
8 Did you listen in on Eloah’s council meeting
and receive a monopoly on wisdom?
9 What do you know that we don’t know?
What do you understand that we don’t?
10 Both the old and the gray-haired are among us.
They are older than your father.
11 Isn’t El’s comfort enough for you,
even when gently spoken to you?
12 Why have your emotions carried you away?
Why do your eyes flash
13 when you turn against El
and spit these words out of your mouth?
14 Why should a mortal be considered faultless
or someone born of a woman be considered righteous?
15 If El doesn’t trust his holy ones,
and the heavens are not pure in his sight,
16 how much less will he trust the one who is disgusting and corrupt,
the one who drinks wickedness like water.
I Want to Tell You What I Know
17 “I’ll tell you; listen to me!
I’ll relate what I have seen.
18 I’ll tell you what wise people have declared
and what was not kept secret from their ancestors.
19 (The land was given to them alone,
and no stranger passed through their land.)
The Tortured Life of the Wicked Person
20 “The wicked person is tortured all his days.
Only a few years are reserved for the ruthless person.
21 Terrifying sounds are in his ears.
While he enjoys peace, the destroyer comes to him.
22 He doesn’t believe he’ll return from the dark.
He is destined to be killed with a sword.
23 He wanders around for food and asks, ‘Where is it?’[a]
He knows that his ruin is close at hand.
24 “The day of darkness[b] troubles him.
Distress and anguish terrify him
like a king ready for battle.
25 He stretches out his hand against El
and attacks Shadday like a warrior.
26 He stubbornly charges at him with a thick shield.
27 “His face is bloated with fat,
and he is fat around the waist.
28 He lives in ruined cities
where no one dwells,
in houses that are doomed to be piles of rubble.
29 He won’t get rich,
and his wealth won’t last.
His possessions won’t spread out over the land.
30 “He won’t escape the darkness.
A flame will shrivel his branches.
He will be blown away by his own breath.
31 He shouldn’t trust in worthless things and deceive himself
because he will get worthless things in return.
32 It will happen before his time has come,
and his branch will not become green.
33 He will drop his unripened grapes like a vine
and throw off his blossoms like an olive tree
34 because a mob of godless people produces nothing,
and fire burns up the tents of those who offer bribes.[c]
35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
Their wombs produce deception.”
Job 15
Common English Bible
Job’s intelligence questioned
15 Eliphaz answered:
2 Will the wise respond with windy knowledge
and fill their belly with the east wind?
3 Will they argue with a word that has no benefit
and with unprofitable words?
4 You are truly making religion ineffective
and restraining meditation before God.
5 Your mouth multiplies your sins a thousand times;
you opt for a clever tongue.
6 Your mouth condemns you, not I;
your lips argue against you.
7 Were you born the first Adam,
brought forth before the hills?
8 Did you listen in God’s council;
is wisdom limited to you?
9 What do you know that we don’t know;
what do you understand that isn’t among us?
10 Both the graybeard and the aged are with us;
those much older than your father.
11 Are God’s comforts not enough for you,
a word spoken gently with you?
12 Why has your mind seized you,
why have your eyes flashed,
13 so that you return your breath to God
and utter such words from your mouth?
14 What are humans that they might be pure,
and those born of woman that they might be innocent?
15 If he doesn’t trust his holy ones
and the heavens aren’t pure in his eyes,
16 how much less those who are abominable and corrupt,
for they drink sin like water.
The wicked’s downfall
17 Listen to me; I will argue with you;
what I’ve seen, I will declare to you;
18 what the wise have told and have not concealed from their family,
19 to whom alone the earth was given
and no stranger passed in their midst.
20 All the days of the wicked are painful;
the number of years reserved for the hateful;
21 a sound of terror pierces[a] their ears;
when safe, raiders overtake them.
22 They can’t count on turning away from darkness;
they are destined for a sword.
23 They wander about for bread. “Where is it?”
They know that their day of darkness is fixed.
24 Adversity and stress scare them,
master them like a king ready to strike;
25 for they raise a fist against God
and try to overpower the Almighty.
26 They run toward him aggressively,
with a massive and strong shield.
27 They cover their face with grease
and make their loins gross.
28 They lived in ruined cities,
unoccupied houses that turn to rubble.
29 They won’t get rich; their wealth won’t last;
their property won’t extend over the earth.
30 They can’t turn away from darkness;
a flame will dry out their shoots,
and they will be taken away by the wind from his mouth.
31 They shouldn’t trust in what has no worth,
for their reward will be worthless.
32 Before their branch is formed,
before it is green,
33 like the vine, they will drop early grapes
and cast off their blossoms like the olive.
34 The ruthless gang is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of bribers.
35 They conceive toil and give birth to sorrow;
their belly establishes deceit.
Footnotes
- Job 15:21 Heb lacks pierces.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible