Eliphaz Accuses Job of Folly
1 Then
a Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
‡
2 “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge,
And fill
1 himself with the east wind?
‡
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk,
Or by speeches with which he can do no good?
4 Yes, you cast off fear,
And restrain
1 prayer before God.
‡
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
And you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 a Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
Yes, your own lips testify against you.
‡
7 “
Are you the first man
who was born?
a Or were you made before the hills?
‡
8 a Have you heard the counsel of God?
Do you limit wisdom to yourself?
‡
9 a What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that
is not in us?
‡
10 a Both the gray-haired and the aged
are among us,
Much older than your father.
‡
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,
And the word
spoken1 gently with you?
‡
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
And
1 what do your eyes wink at,
‡
13 That you turn your spirit against God,
And let
such words go out of your mouth?
14 “What
a is man, that he could be pure?
And
he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous?
‡
15 a If
God puts no trust in His saints,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight,
‡
16 a How much less man,
who is abominable and filthy,
b Who drinks iniquity like water!
‡
17 “I will tell you, hear me;
What I have seen I will declare,
18 What wise men have told,
Not hiding
anything received a from their fathers,
‡
19 To whom alone the
1 land was given,
And
a no alien passed among them:
‡
20 The wicked man writhes with pain all
his days,
a And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor.
‡
21 1 Dreadful sounds
are in his ears;
a In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him.
‡
22 He does not believe that he will
a return from darkness,
For a sword is waiting for him.
‡
23 He
a wanders about for bread,
saying, ‘Where
is it? ’
He knows
b that a day of darkness is ready at his hand.
‡
24 Trouble and anguish make him afraid;
They overpower him, like a king ready for
1 battle.
‡
25 For he stretches out his hand against God,
And acts defiantly against the Almighty,
26 Running stubbornly against Him
With his strong, embossed shield.
27 “Though
a he has covered his face with his fatness,
And made
his waist heavy with fat,
‡
28 He dwells in desolate cities,
In houses which no one inhabits,
Which are destined to become ruins.
29 He will not be rich,
Nor will his wealth
a continue,
Nor will his possessions overspread the earth.
‡
30 He will not depart from darkness;
The flame will dry out his branches,
And
a by the breath of His mouth he will go away.
‡
31 Let him not
a trust in futile
things, deceiving himself,
For futility will be his reward.
‡
32 It will be accomplished
a before his time,
And his branch will not be green.
‡
33 He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine,
And cast off his blossom like an olive tree.
34 For the company of hypocrites
will be barren,
And fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 a They conceive trouble and bring forth futility;
Their womb prepares deceit.”
‡
New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
