Christian Standard Bible

King James Bible

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

1Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,

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

2Should a wise man utter vain 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 reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?

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

4Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.

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

5For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.

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

6Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.

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

7Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?

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

8Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?

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

9What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?

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

10With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.

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

11Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?

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

12Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,

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

13That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy 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 should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

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

15Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.

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

16How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?

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

17I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;

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

18Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:

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

19Unto whom alone the earth 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 travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.

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

21A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.

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

22He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.

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

23He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

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

24Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

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

25For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.

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

26He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:

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

27Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.

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

28And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.

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

29He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon 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 shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.

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

31Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.

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

32It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.

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

33He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.

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

34For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.

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

35They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

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

King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com.