Job 15
Lexham English Bible
Eliphaz’s Second Response to Job
15 Then[a] Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 “Should the wise answer with windy knowledge,
and should he fill his stomach with the east wind?
3 Should he argue in talk that is not profitable
or in words with which he cannot do good?
4 “What is worse,[b] you yourself[c] are doing away with fear,
and you are lessening meditation before[d] God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your mouth condemns you, and not I;
and your lips testify against you.
7 “Were you born the firstborn of the human race?
And were you brought forth before[e] the hills?
8 Have you listened in God’s confidential discussion?
And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 Both the gray-haired and the old are among us—
those older than your father.[f]
11 “Are the consolations of God too small for you,
a word spoken gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away?
And why do your eyes flash,
13 that you turn your spirit against God,
and you let such words go out of your mouth?
14 “What is a human being, that he can be clean,
or[g] that one born of a woman can be righteous?
15 Look, he does not trust his holy ones,
and the heavens are not clean in his eyes.
16 How much less[h] he who is abominable and corrupt,[i]
a man drinking wickedness like water.
17 “I will show you, listen to me;
and what I have seen, I will tell[j]—
18 what wise men have told,
and they have not hidden that which is from their ancestors,
19 to whom alone[k] the land was given,
and no stranger passed through their midst.
20 “All of the wicked one’s days he is writhing,
even[l] through the number of years that are laid up for the tyrant.
21 Sounds of terror are in his ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come against him.
22 He cannot trust that he will return[m] from darkness,
and he himself[n] is destined for the sword.
23 “He is wandering for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is ready at hand.[o]
24 Anguish and distress terrify him;
they[p] overpower him like a king ready for the battle.
25 Because he stretched out his hand against God,
and he was arrogant to Shaddai;
26 he stubbornly[q] runs against him
with his thick-bossed shield.[r]
27 “Because he has covered his face with his fat
and has gathered fat upon his loins,
28 he will dwell[s] in desolate cities,
in houses that they should not inhabit,
which are destined for rubble.
29 He will not become rich, and his wealth will not endure,
and their possessions will not stretch across the earth.[t]
30 “He will not escape from darkness;
a flame will dry up his new shoot,
and by the wind of his mouth he shall be removed.
31 Let him not trust in emptiness—he will be deceiving himself—
for worthlessness will be his recompense.
32 It will be paid in full before his time,[u]
and his branch will not flourish.
33 “He will shake off his unripe fruit like the vine,
and he will cast off his blossom like the olive tree;
34 for the company of the godless is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes.
35 They conceive trouble and bring forth mischief,
and their womb prepares deceit.”
Footnotes
- Job 15:1 Hebrew “And”
- Job 15:4 Literally “Also,” or “Even”
- Job 15:4 Emphatic personal pronoun
- Job 15:4 Literally “to the faces of”
- Job 15:7 Literally “to the faces of”
- Job 15:10 Literally “more aged than your father in days”
- Job 15:14 Or “and”
- Job 15:16 Literally “Also for,” or “Indeed for,” or “Indeed that”
- Job 15:16 Or “he who is corrupt”
- Job 15:17 Literally “and I will tell”
- Job 15:19 Literally “to them to alone them”
- Job 15:20 Hebrew “and”
- Job 15:22 Literally “He cannot trust to return,” or “He is not certain to return,” or “He cannot be sure to return” (compare NJPS)
- Job 15:22 Emphatic personal pronoun
- Job 15:23 Hebrew “at his hand”; the meaning seems to be, “his ruin is certain”
- Job 15:24 Hebrew “it”
- Job 15:26 Literally “with neck”
- Job 15:26 Literally “with the thickness of the boss of his shield”
- Job 15:28 Hebrew “and he will dwell”
- Job 15:29 See HCSB, ESV; or “will not reach to the earth”; perhaps “his possessions will not go to the underworld”
- Job 15:32 Literally “in not his day,” or “without his day”
Job 15
Christian Standard Bible
Second Series of Speeches
Eliphaz Speaks
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Does a wise man answer with empty[a] counsel(A)
or fill himself[b] with the hot east wind?
3 Should he argue(B) with useless talk
or with words that serve no good purpose?
4 But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before him.
5 Your iniquity(C) teaches you what to say,
and you choose the language of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I;
your own lips testify against you.(D)
7 Were you the first human ever born,
or were you brought forth before the hills?(E)
8 Do you listen in on the council of God,
or have a monopoly on wisdom?(F)
9 What do you know that we don’t?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us—
older than your father.
11 Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
even the words that deal gently with you?
12 Why has your heart misled you,
and why do your eyes flash
13 as you turn your anger[c] against God
and allow such words to leave your mouth?
14 What is a mere human, that he should be pure,(G)
or one born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 If God puts no trust in his holy ones(H)
and the heavens are not pure in his sight,(I)
16 how much less one who is revolting and corrupt,(J)
who drinks injustice(K) like water?
17 Listen to me and I will inform you.
I will describe what I have seen,
18 what the wise have declared and not concealed,
that came from their ancestors,(L)
19 to whom alone the land was given
when no foreigner passed among them.
20 A wicked person writhes in pain all his days,
throughout the number of years reserved for the ruthless.
21 Dreadful sounds fill his ears;
when he is at peace, a robber attacks him.
22 He doesn’t believe he will return from darkness;
he is destined for the sword.(M)
23 He wanders about for food, asking, “Where is it?”
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24 Trouble(N) and distress terrify him,
overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.
25 For he has stretched out his hand(O) against God
and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty.
26 He rushes headlong at him
with his thick, studded shields.
27 Though his face is covered with fat[d]
and his waistline bulges with it,
28 he will dwell in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble.(P)
29 He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.
His possessions[e] will not increase in the land.
30 He will not escape from the darkness;
flames will wither his shoots,
and by the breath of God’s mouth, he will depart.(Q)
31 Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray,
for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.
32 It will be accomplished before his time,
and his branch will not flourish.
33 He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes(R)
and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.
34 For the company of the godless(S) will have no children,
and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes.
35 They conceive trouble(T) and give birth to evil;
their womb(U) prepares deception.(V)
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