| Berean Study Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: | 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: |
| 2“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind? | 2"Does a wise man answer with blustery knowledge, or fill his belly with the east wind? |
| 3Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose? | 3Does he argue with useless talk, with words that have no value in them? |
| 4But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before Him. | 4But you even break off piety, and hinder meditation before God. |
| 5For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty. | 5Your sin inspires your mouth; you choose the language of the crafty. |
| 6Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you. | 6Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips testify against you. |
| 7Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills? | 7"Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills? |
| 8Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself? | 8Do you listen in on God's secret council? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? |
| 9What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us? | 9What do you know that we don't know? What do you understand that we don't understand? |
| 10Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father. | 10The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men far older than your father. |
| 11Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you? | 11Are God's consolations too trivial for you; or a word spoken in gentleness to you? |
| 12Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, | 12Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, |
| 13as you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth? | 13when you turn your rage against God and allow such words to escape from your mouth? |
| 14What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous? | 14What is man that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous? |
| 15If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes, | 15If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes, |
| 16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water? | 16how much less man, who is abominable and corrupt, who drinks in evil like water! |
| 17Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen, | 17"I will explain to you; listen to me, and what I have seen, I will declare, |
| 18what was declared by wise men and was not concealed from their fathers, | 18what wise men declare, hiding nothing, from the tradition of their ancestors, |
| 19to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them. | 19to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them. |
| 20A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless. | 20All his days the wicked man suffers torment, throughout the number of the years that are stored up for the tyrant. |
| 21Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him. | 21Terrifying sounds fill his ears; in a time of peace marauders attack him. |
| 22He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword. | 22He does not expect to escape from darkness; he is marked for the sword; |
| 23He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand. | 23he wanders about--food for vultures; he knows that the day of darkness is at hand. |
| 24Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack. | 24Distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him like a king ready to launch an attack, |
| 25For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty, | 25for he stretches out his hand against God, and vaunts himself against the Almighty, |
| 26rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield. | 26defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield! |
| 27Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh, | 27Because he covered his face with fat, and made his hips bulge with fat, |
| 28he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become rubble. | 28he lived in ruined towns and in houses where no one lives, where they are ready to crumble into heaps. |
| 29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land. | 29He will not grow rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land. |
| 30He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away. | 30He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots and he will depart by the breath of God's mouth. |
| 31Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward. | 31Let him not trust in what is worthless, deceiving himself; for worthlessness will be his reward. |
| 32It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish. | 32Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish. |
| 33He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms. | 33Like a vine he will let his sour grapes fall, and like an olive tree he will shed his blossoms. |
| 34For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery. | 34For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of those who accept bribes. |
| 35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.” | 35They conceive trouble and bring forth evil; their belly prepares deception." |
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