Job 15
Legacy Standard Bible
Eliphaz Says Job’s Lips Answer Against Him
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
(A)And fill his belly with the east wind?
3 Should he argue with a word that cannot be used,
Or with speech which is not profitable?
4 Indeed, you annul reverent fear
And cut off musing before God.
5 For (B)your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of (C)the crafty.
6 Your (D)own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips answer against you.
7 “Were you the first man to be born,
Or (E)were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Do you hear the (F)secret counsel of God,
And cut down wisdom only unto yourself?
9 (G)What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not with us?
10 Both the (H)gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.
11 Are (I)the consolations of God too small for you,
Even the (J)word spoken gently with you?
12 Why does your (K)heart take you away?
And why do your eyes flash,
13 That you should turn your spirit against God
And allow such words to go out of your mouth?
14 What is man, that (L)he should be pure,
Or (M)he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 Behold, He puts no faith in His (N)holy ones,
And the (O)heavens are not pure in His sight;
16 How much less one who is (P)abominable and corrupt,
Man, who (Q)drinks [a]unrighteousness like water!
17 “I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have beheld I will also recount;
18 What wise men 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 man writhes (S)in pain all his days,
And [b]numbered are the years (T)stored up for the ruthless.
21 [c]Sounds of (U)dread are in his ears;
(V)While 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 ready at his hand.
24 Distress and anguish terrify him;
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And (Z)magnifies himself against [d]the Almighty.
26 He rushes [e]headlong at Him
With [f]his massive shield.
27 For he has (AA)covered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh.
28 He has (AB)dwelt in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become [g]ruins.
29 He (AC)will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not stretch out over the land.
30 He will (AD)not be able to [h]depart from darkness;
The (AE)flame will wither his shoots,
And by (AF)the breath of His mouth he will depart.
31 Let him not (AG)believe in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his [i]reward,
32 When (AH)his days are not yet fulfilled,
And his palm (AI)branch is not 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 [j]the corrupt.
35 They (AM)conceive [k]trouble and give birth to wickedness,
And their [l]belly prepares deception.”
Footnotes
- Job 15:16 Or injustice
- Job 15:20 Lit the number of years are
- Job 15:21 Lit A sound of dreads
- Job 15:25 Heb Shaddai
- Job 15:26 Lit with a stiff neck
- Job 15:26 Lit the thick-bossed shields
- 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, mischief
- Job 15:35 Or mind
Job 15
New Living Translation
Eliphaz’s Second Response to Job
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk!
You are nothing but a windbag.
3 The wise don’t engage in empty chatter.
What good are such words?
4 Have you no fear of God,
no reverence for him?
5 Your sins are telling your mouth what to say.
Your words are based on clever deception.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I.
Your own lips testify against you.
7 “Were you the first person ever born?
Were you born before the hills were made?
8 Were you listening at God’s secret council?
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
9 What do you know that we don’t?
What do you understand that we do not?
10 On our side are aged, gray-haired men
much older than your father!
11 “Is God’s comfort too little for you?
Is his gentle word not enough?
12 What has taken away your reason?
What has weakened your vision,[a]
13 that you turn against God
and say all these evil things?
14 Can any mortal be pure?
Can anyone born of a woman be just?
15 Look, God does not even trust the angels.[b]
Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.
16 How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person
with a thirst for wickedness!
17 “If you will listen, I will show you.
I will answer you from my own experience.
18 And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men
who have heard the same thing from their fathers—
19 from those to whom the land was given
long before any foreigners arrived.
20 “The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives.
Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.
21 The sound of terror rings in their ears,
and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.
22 They dare not go out into the darkness
for fear they will be murdered.
23 They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’[c]
They know their day of destruction is near.
24 That dark day terrifies them.
They live in distress and anguish,
like a king preparing for battle.
25 For they shake their fists at God,
defying the Almighty.
26 Holding their strong shields,
they defiantly charge against him.
27 “These wicked people are heavy and prosperous;
their waists bulge with fat.
28 But their cities will be ruined.
They will live in abandoned houses
that are ready to tumble down.
29 Their riches will not last,
and their wealth will not endure.
Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.
30 “They will not escape the darkness.
The burning sun will wither their shoots,
and the breath of God will destroy them.
31 Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches,
for emptiness will be their only reward.
32 They will be cut down in the prime of life;
their branches will never again be green.
33 They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early,
like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.
34 For the godless are barren.
Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.
35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
Their womb produces deceit.”
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
