Job 15
Expanded Bible
Eliphaz Answers Job
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “·A wise person would not [L Should a wise person…?] answer with ·empty [L windy] words
or fill his stomach with the hot east wind.
3 ·He would not [L Should he…?] ·argue [reprimand; reprove] with useless words
or make speeches that have no value.
4 But you even ·destroy [invalidate] ·respect for God [L fear]
and limit the worship of him.
5 Your ·sin [iniquity] teaches your mouth what to say;
you ·use words to trick others [L choose the tongue of the crafty].
6 It is your own mouth, not mine, that ·shows you are wicked [condemns];
your own lips testify against you.
7 “·You are not [L Are you…?] the first man ever born [C perhaps a reference to Adam; Ezek. 28:12–13];
·you are not [L are you…?] older than the hills [C either a reference to the wisdom of the elders or to wisdom personified as a woman; Prov. 8:22–25].
8 ·You did not [L Did you…?] listen in on God’s secret council [C like a prophet].
But you limit wisdom to yourself.
9 ·You don’t [L Do you…?] know any more than we know.
·You don’t [L Do you…?] understand any more than we understand.
10 Old people with gray hair are on our side;
they are even older than your father.
11 Is the ·comfort [consolation] God gives you not enough for you,
even when words are spoken gently to you?
12 Has your heart ·carried you away from God [L taken you away; C perhaps suggesting that Job has lost control of his emotions]?
Why do your eyes ·flash with anger [or wink]?
13 Why do you ·speak out your anger [L turn your spirit] against God?
Why do these words pour out of your mouth?
14 “How can anyone be pure?
How can someone born to a woman be ·good [righteous]?
15 God places no trust in his holy ones [C angels],
and even the heavens are not pure in his eyes.
16 How much less pure is one who is ·terrible [abominable] and ·rotten [corrupt]
and drinks up ·evil [injustice] as if it were water [Prov. 4:17–19]!
17 “Listen to me, and I will tell you about it;
I will ·tell [recount to] you what I have seen.
18 These are things wise men have told;
their ancestors told them, and they have hidden nothing.
19 (The land was given to their fathers only,
and no ·foreigner [stranger] lived among them [C suggesting wisdom untainted by foreign influence].)
20 The wicked suffer pain all their lives;
the cruel suffer during all the years saved up for them.
21 Terrible sounds ·fill [reach; L are in] their ears,
and when things ·seem to be going well [are at peace], ·robbers [or destroyers] attack them.
22 Evil people ·give up trying [L cannot hope] to ·escape [L return] from the darkness;
it has been decided that they will die by the sword.
23 They wander around ·and will become food for vultures [or for food, saying “Where is it?”].
They know [L a day of] darkness ·will soon come [L is prepared for them].
24 ·Worry [Distress] and ·suffering [hardship] terrify them;
they overwhelm them, like a king ready to attack,
25 because they ·shake their fists at [L stretched their hands against; Ex. 6:6; Deut. 4:34] God
and ·try to get their own way against [defy] ·the Almighty [Shaddai].
26 They ·stubbornly [defiantly] charge at God
with ·thick, strong [L thick-bossed; C the boss is the convex centerpiece] shields.
27 “Although the faces of the wicked are thick with fat [C a sign of prosperity, but here the result of ill-gotten gain],
and their ·bellies [or loins] are fat with ·flesh [blubber],
28 they will live in towns that are ruined,
in houses where no one lives,
·which are crumbling into ruins [L destined to become a ruin heap].
29 The wicked will no longer ·get [or be] rich,
and the riches they have will not last [Ps. 73; Prov. 11:18; 13:11; 21:6; 22:16]
the things they own will no longer spread over the land.
30 They will not ·escape [L turn aside from] the darkness.
A flame will dry up their ·branches [shoots];
God’s breath will carry the wicked away.[a]
31 The wicked should not fool themselves by trusting what is useless.
If they do, they will get nothing in return [C “useless” and “nothing” are the same Hebrew word].
32 Their branches will dry up ·before they finish growing [L out of season]
and will never turn green.
33 They will be like a vine whose grapes ·are pulled [shake] off before they are ripe,
like an olive tree that ·loses [throws off] its blossoms.
34 ·People without God [L The assembly of the godless] ·can produce nothing [L are barren].
Fire will ·destroy [consume] the tents of those who take ·money to do evil [L bribes],
35 who ·plan [L conceive] trouble and give birth to evil,
whose ·hearts [L womb] plan ways to ·trick [L defraud; Ps. 7:14; Is. 59:4] others.”
Footnotes
- Job 15:30 God’s breath will carry the wicked away Some Greek copies read “their blossom will be carried off by the wind.”
Job 15
New American Standard Bible
Eliphaz Says Job Presumes Much
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge,
(A)And fill [a]himself with the east wind?
3 Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which do not benefit?
4 Indeed, you do away with [b]reverence,
And hinder meditation before God.
5 For (B)your wrongdoing teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of (C)the cunning.
6 Your (D)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you.
7 “Were you the first person to be born,
Or (E)were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Do you hear the (F)secret discussion of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?
9 (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
- Job 15:2 Lit his belly
- Job 15:4 Lit fear
- Job 15:9 Lit is not within us?
- Job 15:16 Or injustice
- Job 15:20 Lit number of years are reserved for
- Job 15:21 Lit A sound of terrors is
- Job 15:23 Lit ready at his hand
- Job 15:25 Heb Shaddai
- Job 15:26 Lit with a stiff neck
- Job 15:26 Lit thick-bossed shields
- Job 15:27 Lit made
- Job 15:28 Or heaps
- Job 15:30 Lit turn aside
- Job 15:31 Lit exchange
- Job 15:34 Lit a bribe
- Job 15:35 Or pain
- Job 15:35 Lit belly
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New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
