Job 15
Eliphaz rebukes Job, saying his words are empty and sinful, and that he has lost reverence for God. Eliphaz questions Job's wisdom, asking if he has special knowledge or understanding that others do not. He then describes the wicked, saying they are arrogant and fearful, and that their lives are marked by terror and darkness. Eliphaz concludes that the wicked will ultimately be destroyed, and that their wealth and power will not save them.
But Eliphaz the Themanite, answering, saidWill a wise man answer as if he were speaking wind, and will he fill his stomach with fireYou rebuke with words he who is not equal to you, and you speak what is not expedient for youto such an extent that, within yourself, you have expelled reverence and have taken away prayers from the presence of GodFor your iniquity has mislead your mouth, and you imitate the tongue of blasphemersYour own mouth will condemn you, not I; and your own lips will answer youAre you the first man who was born, or were you formed before the hillsHave you heard the intentions of God, and will his wisdom be inferior to youWhat do you know, about which we are ignorant? What do you understand that we do not knowThere are with us both aged and ancient men, even more senior than your fathersIs it so important that God should console you? But your own depraved words prevent thisWhy does your heart exalt you, and why do you gaze with your eyes, as if thinking great thingsWhy does your spirit stir against God, so as to utter such speeches from your mouthWhat is man that he should be immaculate, and that he should appear just, having been born of womanBehold, among his holy ones not one is immutable, and even the heavens are not pure in his sightHow much more abominable and useless is the man who drinks as if from the water of iniquityI will reveal to you, so listen to me; and I will explain to you what I have seenThe wise acknowledge, and they do not leave behind, their fathersto whom alone the earth has been given, and no stranger passed among themThe impious is arrogant for all his days, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertainThe sound of terror is always in his ears; and when there is peace, he always suspects treasonHe does not believe that it is possible for him to be turned from darkness into the light, for he sees around him the sword on every sideWhen he moves himself to seek bread, he knows that the day of darkness has been prepared for his handTribulation will terrify him, and anguish will prevail over him, like a king who is being prepared to go to battleFor he has extended his hand against God, and he has strengthened himself against the AlmightyHe has rushed against him with his throat exposed, and he has been armed with a fat neckThickness has covered his face, and lard hangs down from his sidesHe has lived in desolate cities and deserted houses, which have been turned into tombsHe will not be enriched, nor will his basic necessities endure, nor will he establish his root in the earthHe will not withdraw from the darkness; the flame will burn up his branches, and he will be defeated by the breath of his own mouthHe will not believe, being vainly deceived by error, that he could be redeemed at any priceBefore his time is completed, he will pass into ruin and his hands will wither awayHe will be wounded like a grapevine, when its cluster is in first flower, and like an olive tree that casts off its flowerFor the congregation of the hypocrites is fruitless, and fire will devour the tabernacles of those who love to accept moneyHe has conceived sorrow, and he has brought forth iniquity, and his womb prepares deceit
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