1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
2 "Would a wise man answer with empty notions
or fill his belly with the hot east wind? |
3 Would he argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value? |
4 But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God. |
5 Your sin prompts your mouth;
you adopt the tongue of the crafty. |
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you. |
7 "Are you the first man ever born?
Were you brought forth before the hills? |
8 Do you listen in on God's council?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself? |
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have? |
10 The gray-haired and the aged are on our side,
men even older than your father. |
11 Are God's consolations not enough for you,
words spoken gently to you? |
12 Why has your heart carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash, |
13 so that you vent your rage against God
and pour out such words from your mouth? |
14 "What is man, that he could be pure,
or one born of woman, that he could be righteous? |
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes, |
16 how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,
who drinks up evil like water! |
17 "Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen, |
18 what wise men have declared,
hiding nothing received from their fathers |
19 (to whom alone the land was given
when no alien passed among them): |
20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,
the ruthless through all the years stored up for him. |
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;
when all seems well, marauders attack him. |
22 He despairs of escaping the darkness;
he is marked for the sword. |
23 He wanders about-food for vultures1 15:23 Or about, looking for food ;
he knows the day of darkness is at hand. |
24 Distress and anguish fill him with terror;
they overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack, |
25 because he shakes his fist at God
and vaunts himself against the Almighty, |
26 defiantly charging against him
with a thick, strong shield. |
27 "Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh, |
28 he will inhabit ruined towns
and houses where no one lives,
houses crumbling to rubble. |
29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,
nor will his possessions spread over the land. |
30 He will not escape the darkness;
a flame will wither his shoots,
and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away. |
31 Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless,
for he will get nothing in return. |
32 Before his time he will be paid in full,
and his branches will not flourish. |
33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,
like an olive tree shedding its blossoms. |
34 For the company of the godless will be barren,
and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes. |
35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb fashions deceit." |
