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
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.”
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
