Skip to content- 1Verse 1. Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
- 2Verse 2. “Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
- 3Verse 3. Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose?
- 4Verse 4. But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before Him.
- 5Verse 5. For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.
- 6Verse 6. Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you.
- 7Verse 7. Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
- 8Verse 8. Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself?
- 9Verse 9. What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
- 10Verse 10. Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side— men much older than your father.
- 11Verse 11. Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you?
- 12Verse 12. Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,
- 13Verse 13. as you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth?
- 14Verse 14. What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
- 15Verse 15. If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,
- 16Verse 16. how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
- 17Verse 17. Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,
- 18Verse 18. what was declared by wise men and was not concealed from their fathers,
- 19Verse 19. to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them.
- 20Verse 20. A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
- 21Verse 21. Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.
- 22Verse 22. He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.
- 23Verse 23. He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
- 24Verse 24. Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.
- 25Verse 25. For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
- 26Verse 26. rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield.
- 27Verse 27. Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,
- 28Verse 28. he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.
- 29Verse 29. He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land.
- 30Verse 30. He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
- 31Verse 31. Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.
- 32Verse 32. It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
- 33Verse 33. He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.
- 34Verse 34. For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
- 35Verse 35. They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”