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Job 15
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Job 15
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Eliphaz Speaks: Job Undermines Religion
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 ‘Should the wise answer with windy knowledge,
and fill themselves with the east wind?
3 Should they argue in unprofitable talk,
or in words with which they can do no good?
4 But you are doing away with the fear of God,
and hindering meditation before God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth,
and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
your own lips testify against you.
7 ‘Are you the firstborn of the human race?
Were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Have you listened in the council of God?
And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 The grey-haired and the aged are on our side,
those older than your father.
11 Are the consolations of God too small for you,
or the word that deals gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away,
and why do your eyes flash,[a]
13 so that you turn your spirit against God,
and let such words go out of your mouth?
14 What are mortals, that they can be clean?
Or those born of woman, that they can be righteous?
15 God puts no trust even in his holy ones,
and the heavens are not clean in his sight;
16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt,
one who drinks iniquity like water!
17 ‘I will show you; listen to me;
what I have seen I will declare—
18 what sages have told,
and their ancestors have not hidden,
19 to whom alone the land was given,
and no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked writhe in pain all their days,
through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.
21 Terrifying sounds are in their ears;
in prosperity the destroyer will come upon them.
22 They despair of returning from darkness,
and they are destined for the sword.
23 They wander abroad for bread, saying, “Where is it?”
They know that a day of darkness is ready at hand;
24 distress and anguish terrify them;
they prevail against them, like a king prepared for battle.
25 Because they stretched out their hands against God,
and bid defiance to the Almighty,[b]
26 running stubbornly against him
with a thick-bossed shield;
27 because they have covered their faces with their fat,
and gathered fat upon their loins,
28 they will live in desolate cities,
in houses that no one should inhabit,
houses destined to become heaps of ruins;
29 they will not be rich, and their wealth will not endure,
nor will they strike root in the earth;[c]
30 they will not escape from darkness;
the flame will dry up their shoots,
and their blossom[d] will be swept away[e] by the wind.
31 Let them not trust in emptiness, deceiving themselves;
for emptiness will be their recompense.
32 It will be paid in full before their time,
and their branch will not be green.
33 They will shake off their unripe grape, like the vine,
and cast off their blossoms, like the olive tree.
34 For the company of the godless is barren,
and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief and bring forth evil
and their heart prepares deceit.’
Job 15
New International Version
Job 15
New International Version
Eliphaz
15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:
2 “Would a wise person answer with empty notions
or fill their belly with the hot east wind?(B)
3 Would they argue with useless words,
with speeches that have no value?(C)
4 But you even undermine piety
and hinder devotion to God.(D)
5 Your sin(E) prompts your mouth;(F)
you adopt the tongue of the crafty.(G)
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not mine;
your own lips testify against you.(H)
7 “Are you the first man ever born?(I)
Were you brought forth before the hills?(J)
8 Do you listen in on God’s council?(K)
Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?(L)
9 What do you know that we do not know?
What insights do you have that we do not have?(M)
10 The gray-haired and the aged(N) are on our side,
men even older than your father.(O)
11 Are God’s consolations(P) not enough for you,
words(Q) spoken gently to you?(R)
12 Why has your heart(S) carried you away,
and why do your eyes flash,
13 so that you vent your rage(T) against God
and pour out such words(U) from your mouth?(V)
14 “What are mortals, that they could be pure,
or those born of woman,(W) that they could be righteous?(X)
15 If God places no trust in his holy ones,(Y)
if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,(Z)
16 how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt,(AA)
who drink up evil(AB) like water!(AC)
17 “Listen to me and I will explain to you;
let me tell you what I have seen,(AD)
18 what the wise have declared,
hiding nothing received from their ancestors(AE)
19 (to whom alone the land(AF) was given
when no foreigners moved among them):
20 All his days the wicked man suffers torment,(AG)
the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him.(AH)
21 Terrifying sounds fill his ears;(AI)
when all seems well, marauders attack him.(AJ)
22 He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness;(AK)
he is marked for the sword.(AL)
23 He wanders about(AM) for food like a vulture;(AN)
he knows the day of darkness(AO) is at hand.(AP)
24 Distress and anguish(AQ) fill him with terror;(AR)
troubles overwhelm him, like a king(AS) poised to attack,
25 because he shakes his fist(AT) at God
and vaunts himself against the Almighty,(AU)
26 defiantly charging against him
with a thick, strong shield.(AV)
27 “Though his face is covered with fat
and his waist bulges with flesh,(AW)
28 he will inhabit ruined towns
and houses where no one lives,(AX)
houses crumbling to rubble.(AY)
29 He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure,(AZ)
nor will his possessions spread over the land.(BA)
30 He will not escape the darkness;(BB)
a flame(BC) will wither his shoots,(BD)
and the breath of God’s mouth(BE) will carry him away.(BF)
31 Let him not deceive(BG) himself by trusting what is worthless,(BH)
for he will get nothing in return.(BI)
32 Before his time(BJ) he will wither,(BK)
and his branches will not flourish.(BL)
33 He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,(BM)
like an olive tree shedding its blossoms.(BN)
34 For the company of the godless(BO) will be barren,
and fire will consume(BP) the tents of those who love bribes.(BQ)
35 They conceive trouble(BR) and give birth to evil;(BS)
their womb fashions deceit.”
Job 15
King James Version
Job 15
King James Version
15 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
2 Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?
4 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.
5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.
7 Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?
8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
9 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?
10 With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.
11 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?
12 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,
13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?
14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
17 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;
18 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:
19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:
27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.
28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.
29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.
30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.
32 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
33 He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.
34 For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
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