Christian Standard Bible | New Living Translation |
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: | 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
2Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill himself with the hot east wind? | 2“A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag. |
3Should he argue with useless talk or with words that serve no good purpose? | 3The wise don’t engage in empty chatter. What good are such words? |
4But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before him. | 4Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him? |
5Your iniquity teaches you what to say, and you choose the language of the crafty. | 5Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception. |
6Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips testify against you. | 6Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Your own lips testify against you. |
7Were you the first human ever born, or were you brought forth before the hills? | 7“Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made? |
8Do you listen in on the council of God, or have a monopoly on wisdom? | 8Were you listening at God’s secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom? |
9What do you know that we don't? What do you understand that is not clear to us? | 9What do you know that we don’t? What do you understand that we do not? |
10Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us--older than your father. | 10On our side are aged, gray-haired men much older than your father! |
11Are God's consolations not enough for you, even the words that deal gently with you? | 11“Is God’s comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough? |
12Why has your heart misled you, and why do your eyes flash | 12What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision, |
13as you turn your anger against God and allow such words to leave your mouth? | 13that you turn against God and say all these evil things? |
14What is a mere human, that he should be pure, or one born of a woman, that he should be righteous? | 14Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just? |
15If God puts no trust in his holy ones and the heavens are not pure in his sight, | 15Look, God does not even trust the angels. Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight. |
16how much less one who is revolting and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water? | 16How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst for wickedness! |
17Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen, | 17“If you will listen, I will show you. I will answer you from my own experience. |
18what the wise have declared and not concealed, that came from their ancestors, | 18And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers— |
19to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them. | 19from those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived. |
20A wicked person writhes in pain all his days, throughout the number of years reserved for the ruthless. | 20“The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives. Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless. |
21Dreadful sounds fill his ears; when he is at peace, a robber attacks him. | 21The sound of terror rings in their ears, and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer. |
22He doesn't believe he will return from darkness; he is destined for the sword. | 22They dare not go out into the darkness for fear they will be murdered. |
23He wanders about for food, asking, "Where is it?" He knows the day of darkness is at hand. | 23They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’ They know their day of destruction is near. |
24Trouble and distress terrify him, overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle. | 24That dark day terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish, like a king preparing for battle. |
25For he has stretched out his hand against God and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty. | 25For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty. |
26He rushes headlong at him with his thick, studded shields. | 26Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge against him. |
27Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with it, | 27“These wicked people are heavy and prosperous; their waists bulge with fat. |
28he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble. | 28But their cities will be ruined. They will live in abandoned houses that are ready to tumble down. |
29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not increase in the land. | 29Their riches will not last, and their wealth will not endure. Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon. |
30He will not escape from the darkness; flames will wither his shoots, and by the breath of God's mouth, he will depart. | 30“They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them. |
31Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray, for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless. | 31Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward. |
32It will be accomplished before his time, and his branch will not flourish. | 32They will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green. |
33He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms. | 33They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early, like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form. |
34For the company of the godless will have no children, and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes. | 34For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn. |
35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb prepares deception. | 35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb produces deceit.” |
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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