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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Eliphaz Speaks: Job Undermines Religion
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Should the wise answer with windy knowledge
and fill themselves with the east wind?(A)
3 Should they argue in unprofitable talk
or in words that can do no good?
4 But you are doing away with the fear of God
and hindering meditation before God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
and you choose the tongue of the crafty.(B)
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I;
your own lips testify against you.(C)
7 “Are you the firstborn of the human race?
Were you brought forth before the hills?(D)
8 Have you listened in the council of God?
And do you limit wisdom to yourself?(E)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?(F)
10 The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
those older than your father.(G)
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you
or the word that deals gently with you?(H)
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
and why do your eyes flash,[a]
13 so that you turn your spirit against God,
and let such words go out of your mouth?(I)
14 What are mortals, that they can be clean?
Or those born of woman, that they can be righteous?(J)
15 God puts no trust even in his holy ones,
and the heavens are not clean in his sight;(K)
16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt,
one who drinks iniquity like water!(L)
17 “I will show you; listen to me;
what I have seen I will declare—
18 what sages have told
and their ancestors have not hidden,(M)
19 to whom alone the land was given,
and no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked writhe in pain all their days,
through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.(N)
21 Terrifying sounds are in their ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come upon them.(O)
22 They despair of returning from darkness,
and they are destined for the sword.(P)
23 They wander abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’
They know that a day of darkness is ready at hand;(Q)
24 distress and anguish terrify them;
they prevail against them like a king prepared for battle.
25 Because they stretched out their hands against God
and bid defiance to the Almighty,[b](R)
26 running stubbornly against him
with a thickly bossed shield;
27 because they have covered their faces with their fat
and gathered fat upon their loins,(S)
28 they will live in desolate cities,
in houses that no one should inhabit,
houses destined to become heaps of ruins;
29 they will not be rich, and their wealth will not endure,
nor will they strike root in the earth;[c](T)
30 they will not escape from darkness;
the flame will dry up their shoots,
and their blossom[d] will be swept away by the wind.(U)
31 Let them not trust in emptiness, deceiving themselves,
for emptiness will be their recompense.(V)
32 It will be paid in full before their time,
and their branch will not be green.(W)
33 They will shake off their unripe grape, like the vine,
and cast off their blossoms, like the olive tree.(X)
34 For the company of the godless is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of bribery.(Y)
35 They conceive mischief and bring forth evil,
and their belly prepares deceit.”(Z)
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.