Eliphaz: Job Does Not Fear God

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel

or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

Should he argue with useless words

or speeches that serve no purpose?

But you even undermine the fear of God

and hinder meditation before Him.

For your iniquity instructs your mouth,

and you choose the language of the crafty.

Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you;

your own lips testify against you.

Were you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

Do you listen in on the council of God

or limit wisdom to yourself?

What do you know that we do not?

What do you understand that is not clear to us?

Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—

men much older than your father.

Are the consolations of God not enough for you,

even words spoken gently to you?

Why has your heart carried you away,

and why do your eyes flash,

as you turn your spirit against God

and pour such words from your mouth?

What is man, that he should be pure,

or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

If God puts no trust in His holy ones,

if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,

how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,

who drinks injustice like water?

Listen to me and I will inform you.

I will describe what I have seen,

what was declared by wise men

and was not concealed from their fathers,

to whom alone the land was given

when no foreigner passed among them.

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;

only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

Sounds of terror fill his ears;

in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.

He despairs of his return from darkness;

he is marked for the sword.

He wanders about as food for vultures;

he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

Distress and anguish terrify him,

overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.

For he has stretched out his hand against God

and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,

rushing headlong at Him

with a thick, studded shield.

Though his face is covered with fat

and his waistline bulges with flesh,

he will dwell in ruined cities,

in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.

He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.

His possessions will not overspread the land.

He will not escape from the darkness;

the flame will wither his shoots,

and the breath of God’s mouth

will carry him away.

Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness,

for emptiness will be his reward.

It will be paid in full before his time,

and his branch will not flourish.

He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,

like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

For the company of the godless will be barren,

and fire will consume the tents of bribery.

They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;

their womb is pregnant with deceit.”