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
Job 15
International Standard Version
Eliphaz Speaks Again
15 Then Eliphaz from Teman responded:
2 “Should a wise person respond with knowledge based on wind?
Should he fill his stomach with a wind storm from the east?
3 Should he engage in unprofitable argument,
or give a speech that benefits no one?
4 Yet you dispense with fear of God
and hinder meditations before God.
5 Because your sin dictates your speech,[a]
you have chosen the language[b] of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth is condemning you, not I;
your own lips will testify against you.”
Eliphaz Claims that Job is Guilty
7 “Were you the first person[c]to be born?
Were you brought forth before the hills were made?
8 Have you listened in on God’s secret council?
Have you limited wisdom only to yourself?
9 What do you know that we don’t know,
or that you understand and that isn’t clear to us?
10 “We have both the gray-haired and the aged with us,
and they are far older[d] than your father.
11 Are God’s encouragements inconsequential to you,
even a word that has been spoken[e] gently to you?
12 Why have your emotions[f] carried you away?
And why do your eyes flash
13 that you turn your anger[g] against God
and speak words like this?
14 “What is mankind, that he can be blameless?
Or does being born of a woman mean he’ll be in the right?
15 Look, if God[h] doesn’t trust his holy ones,[i]
if even the heavens aren’t pure as he looks at them,
16 then how much less is one who is abhorred and corrupted,
such as a man who drinks injustice like water?”
Eliphaz Describes the Plight of the Wicked
17 “I’ll tell you what, listen to me!
Let me relate what I’ve seen,
18 which is what wise men have explained,
who didn’t withhold anything from their ancestors.
19 To them alone was the land given,
when no invader[j] passed through their midst.
20 “The wicked person writhes in pain throughout his life,
a number of years has been reserved for the ruthless.
21 Terrifying sounds ring[k] in his ears;
when times are prosperous, the Destroyer will attack[l] him.
22 He does not believe he will escape[m] darkness;
he is destined for the sword.
23 He wanders around for food—where is it?
He knows that a time of darkness is near.[n]
24 Distress and pressure terrify him;
they overwhelm him, like a king poised for attack.
25 “For he has raised his fist against God,
defying the Almighty.
26 He defiantly ran against him
carrying his thick, reinforced shield.
27 Though he covered his face with fat,
and is grossly overweight at the waist,
28 He will live in devastated towns,
in abandoned houses
that are about to become heaps of rubble.
29 “He won’t become rich and his wealth won’t last;
he won’t expand his holdings to cover the land.
30 He won’t escape darkness;
a flame will wither his shoots;
and he’ll depart by the breath of God’s[o] mouth.
31 Let him not trust in a worthless speech.
He leads only himself astray,
for emptiness will be his reward.
32 This will be accomplished before his time;[p]
his branches won’t grow luxuriant.
33 “He is like a vine that drops its unripe grapes;
like an olive tree that loses its blossoms.
34 For the company of the godless is desolation,
and fire consumes the tents of those who[q] bribe.
35 For they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity;
their womb is pregnant[r] with deception.”
Footnotes
- Job 15:5 Lit. mouth
- Job 15:5 Lit. tongue
- Job 15:7 Lit. man
- Job 15:10 Lit. are older by many days
- Job 15:11 The Heb. lacks spoken
- Job 15:12 Lit. heart
- Job 15:13 Lit. spirit
- Job 15:15 Lit. he
- Job 15:15 Cf. Job 4:18
- Job 15:19 Or foreigner
- Job 15:21 The Heb. lacks ring
- Job 15:21 Or come upon him
- Job 15:22 Or turn aside
- Job 15:23 Lit. is at hand
- Job 15:30 Lit. his
- Job 15:32 Lit. day
- Job 15:34 The Heb. lacks those who
- Job 15:35 Lit. womb fashions; i.e., as a womb fashions a child
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