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.”