1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: |
2 "Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, And fill 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 prayer 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; Yes, your own lips testify against you. |
7 "Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills? |
8 Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? |
9 What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? |
10 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 spoken gently with you? |
12 Why does your heart carry you away, And 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 is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? |
15 If God puts no trust in His saints, And the heavens are not pure in His sight, |
16 How much less man, who is abominable and filthy, 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 from their fathers, |
19 To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them: |
20 The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor. |
21 Dreadful sounds are in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him. |
22 He does not believe that he will return from darkness, For a sword is waiting for him. |
23 He wanders about for bread, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows 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 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 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 continue, Nor will his possessions overspread the earth. |
30 He will not depart from darkness; The flame will dry out his branches, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away. |
31 Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself, For futility will be his reward. |
32 It will be accomplished 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 They conceive trouble and bring forth futility; Their womb prepares deceit." |