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15 Then answered Eliphaz the Temani, and said,

Should a chacham (wise man) utter vain knowledge, and fill his inner being with the east wind?

Should he reason with unprofitable davar (talk)? Or with speeches wherewith no good is done?

Yea, thou makest void yireh [Elohim], and doth diminish si’akh (meditation) before El.

For thy mouth uttereth thine avon, and thou choosest the leshon arumim (tongue of the crafty).

Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and loh Ani (not I); yea, thine own lips testify against thee.

Art thou harishon adam (the first man) that was born? Or wast thou made before the hills?

Hast thou attended to the sod Eloah (counsel of G-d)? And dost thou limit chochmah to thyself?

Of what dost thou have da’as, that we know not? What understandest thou, which is not in us?

10 Both the grayheaded and very aged men are among us, much elder than avicha.

11 Are the tanechumot El (consolations of G-d) not enough for thee? Or the davar that deals gently with thee?

12 Why doth thine lev carry thee away? And why do thy eyes flash,

13 That thou ventest thy ruach against El (G-d), and lettest such words pour out of thy mouth?

14 What is enosh, that he should be pure [in the sight of Hashem]? And he which is born of an isha, that yitzdak (he should be in the right)?

15 If He trusteth not His Kadoshim; yea, Shomayim is not pure in His eyes.

16 How much more vile and corrupt is ish, which drinketh iniquity like mayim?

17 I will show thee, shema to me; and that which I have seen I will declare;

18 Things which chachamim declare from their avot without concealment;

19 Unto whom alone ha’aretz was given, and no zar passed among them.

20 The reshah travaileth with pain all his yamim, and numbered shanim are reserved for the oppressor.

21 A dreadful sound is in his oznayim; during shalom the shoded (destroyer) shall come upon him.

22 He believeth not in a return from choshech, and he is marked for the cherev.

23 He wandereth about after lechem, saying, Where is it? He has da’as the Yom Choshech is near at hand for him.

24 Distress and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall seize him as a melech poised for battle.

25 For he stretcheth out his yad against El (G-d), and with insolence vaunts himself against Shaddai.

26 He charges against Him, with a stiff neck, with the thick bosses of his mogen (shield);

27 Though he covereth his panim with his fatness, and addeth fat on his flanks;

28 And he dwelleth in desolate towns, and in batim (houses) which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to crumble to rubble.

29 He shall not be osher, neither shall his substance continue; neither shall their possessions spread over ha’aretz.

30 He shall not escape from choshech; the flame shall wither his branches, and in the ruach of his mouth shall he perish.

31 Let not him that is deceived trust in shav (vanity); for shav shall be his recompense.

32 His Yom is not yet; then it is accomplished, and his branch shall not flourish.

33 He shall shake off his unripe grape like the gefen, and shall cast off his blossom like the zayit (olive tree).

34 For the Adat Chanef (congregation of hypocrites) shall be barren, and eish shall consume the ohalim of bribery.

35 They conceive amal (trouble), and give birth to evil, and their belly worketh mirmar (deceit).

Eliphaz Accuses: Job Does Not Fear God

15 Then (A)Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

“Should (B)a wise man answer with (C)windy knowledge,
    and fill his (D)belly with (E)the east wind?
Should he argue in unprofitable talk,
    or in words with which he can do no good?
But you are doing away with the fear of God[a]
    and hindering meditation before God.
For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
    and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
Your (F)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
    (G)your own lips testify against you.

(H)“Are you the first man who was born?
    Or (I)were you brought forth (J)before the hills?
Have you listened in (K)the council of God?
    And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
(L)What do you know that we do not know?
    What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 (M)Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
    older than your father.
11 Are the comforts of God too small for you,
    or the word that deals gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
    and why do your eyes flash,
13 that you turn your (N)spirit against God
    and bring such words out of your mouth?
14 (O)What is man, (P)that he can be pure?
    Or he who is (Q)born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
15 Behold, God[b] (R)puts no trust in his (S)holy ones,
    and the heavens are not pure in his sight;
16 (T)how much less one who is abominable and (U)corrupt,
    a man who (V)drinks injustice like water!

17 “I will show you; hear me,
    and what I have seen I will declare
18 (what wise men have told,
    without hiding it (W)from their fathers,
19 to whom alone the land was given,
    and no (X)stranger passed among them).
20 The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
    through all the (Y)years that are laid up for (Z)the ruthless.
21 (AA)Dreadful sounds are in his ears;
    in (AB)prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.
22 He does not believe that he will return out of darkness,
    and he is marked for the sword.
23 He (AC)wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
    He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
24 distress and anguish terrify him;
    they (AD)prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God
    and defies the Almighty,
26 (AE)running (AF)stubbornly against him
    with a thickly bossed shield;
27 because he has (AG)covered his face with his fat
    and gathered fat upon his waist
28 and has lived in desolate cities,
    in houses that none should inhabit,
    which were ready to become heaps of ruins;
29 he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure,
    nor will his possessions spread over the earth;[c]
30 he will not depart from darkness;
    the flame will dry up his shoots,
    and by (AH)the breath of his mouth he will depart.
31 Let him not (AI)trust in emptiness, deceiving himself,
    for emptiness will be his payment.
32 It will be paid in full (AJ)before his time,
    and his branch will not be green.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine,
    and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.
34 For (AK)the company of the godless is barren,
    and (AL)fire consumes the tents of bribery.
35 They (AM)conceive trouble and give birth to evil,
    and their (AN)womb prepares deceit.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 15:4 Hebrew lacks of God
  2. Job 15:15 Hebrew he
  3. Job 15:29 Or nor will his produce bend down to the earth