Christian Standard Bible

English Standard Version

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill himself with the hot east wind?

2“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?

3Should he argue with useless talk or with words that serve no good purpose?

3Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good?

4But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before him.

4But you are doing away with the fear of God and hindering meditation before God.

5Your iniquity teaches you what to say, and you choose the language of the crafty.

5For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.

6Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips testify against you.

6Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you.

7Were you the first human ever born, or were you brought forth before the hills?

7“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you brought forth before the hills?

8Do you listen in on the council of God, or have a monopoly on wisdom?

8Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?

9What do you know that we don't? What do you understand that is not clear to us?

9What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?

10Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us--older than your father.

10Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, older than your father.

11Are God's consolations not enough for you, even the words that deal gently with you?

11Are the comforts of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?

12Why has your heart misled you, and why do your eyes flash

12Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash,

13as you turn your anger against God and allow such words to leave your mouth?

13that you turn your spirit against God and bring such words out of your mouth?

14What is a mere human, that he should be pure, or one born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

14What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?

15If God puts no trust in his holy ones and the heavens are not pure in his sight,

15Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight;

16how much less one who is revolting and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?

16how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water!

17Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,

17“I will show you; hear me, and what I have seen I will declare

18what the wise have declared and not concealed, that came from their ancestors,

18(what wise men have told, without hiding it from their fathers,

19to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them.

19to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them).

20A wicked person writhes in pain all his days, throughout the number of years reserved for the ruthless.

20The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.

21Dreadful sounds fill his ears; when he is at peace, a robber attacks him.

21Dreadful sounds are in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.

22He doesn't believe he will return from darkness; he is destined for the sword.

22He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, and he is marked for the sword.

23He wanders about for food, asking, "Where is it?" He knows the day of darkness is at hand.

23He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;

24Trouble and distress terrify him, overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.

24distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.

25For he has stretched out his hand against God and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty.

25Because he has stretched out his hand against God and defies the Almighty,

26He rushes headlong at him with his thick, studded shields.

26running stubbornly against him with a thickly bossed shield;

27Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with it,

27because he has covered his face with his fat and gathered fat upon his waist

28he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble.

28and has lived in desolate cities, in houses that none should inhabit, which were ready to become heaps of ruins;

29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not increase in the land.

29he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the earth;

30He will not escape from the darkness; flames will wither his shoots, and by the breath of God's mouth, he will depart.

30he will not depart from darkness; the flame will dry up his shoots, and by the breath of his mouth he will depart.

31Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray, for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.

31Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his payment.

32It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not flourish.

32It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not be green.

33He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

33He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine, and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.

34For the company of the godless will have no children, and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes.

34For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of bribery.

35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb prepares deception.

35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil, and their womb prepares deceit.”

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.