| New American Standard Bible 1995 | New International Version |
| 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded, | 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
| 2"Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge And fill himself with the east wind? | 2"Would a wise person answer with empty notions or fill their belly with the hot east wind? |
| 3"Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which are not profitable? | 3Would they argue with useless words, with speeches that have no value? |
| 4"Indeed, you do away with reverence And hinder meditation before God. | 4But you even undermine piety and hinder devotion to God. |
| 5"For your guilt teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of the crafty. | 5Your sin prompts your mouth; you adopt the tongue of the crafty. |
| 6"Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; And your own lips testify against you. | 6Your own mouth condemns you, not mine; your own lips testify against you. |
| 7"Were you the first man to be born, Or were you brought forth before the hills? | 7"Are you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills? |
| 8"Do you hear the secret counsel of God, And limit wisdom to yourself? | 8Do you listen in on God's council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom? |
| 9"What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not? | 9What do you know that we do not know? What insights do you have that we do not have? |
| 10"Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Older than your father. | 10The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, men even older than your father. |
| 11"Are the consolations of God too small for you, Even the word spoken gently with you? | 11Are God's consolations not enough for you, words spoken gently to you? |
| 12"Why does your heart carry you away? And why do your eyes flash, | 12Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash, |
| 13That you should turn your spirit against God And allow such words to go out of your mouth? | 13so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth? |
| 14"What is man, that he should be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? | 14"What are mortals, that they could be pure, or those born of woman, that they could be righteous? |
| 15"Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight; | 15If God places no trust in his holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes, |
| 16How much less one who is detestable and corrupt, Man, who drinks iniquity like water! | 16how much less mortals, who are vile and corrupt, who drink up evil like water! |
| 17"I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare; | 17"Listen to me and I will explain to you; let me tell you what I have seen, |
| 18What wise men have told, And have not concealed from their fathers, | 18what the wise have declared, hiding nothing received from their ancestors |
| 19To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them. | 19(to whom alone the land was given when no foreigners moved among them): |
| 20"The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless. | 20All his days the wicked man suffers torment, the ruthless man through all the years stored up for him. |
| 21"Sounds of terror are in his ears; While at peace the destroyer comes upon him. | 21Terrifying sounds fill his ears; when all seems well, marauders attack him. |
| 22"He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword. | 22He despairs of escaping the realm of darkness; he is marked for the sword. |
| 23"He wanders about for food, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that a day of darkness is at hand. | 23He wanders about for food like a vulture; he knows the day of darkness is at hand. |
| 24"Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack, | 24Distress and anguish fill him with terror; troubles overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack, |
| 25Because he has stretched out his hand against God And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty. | 25because he shakes his fist at God and vaunts himself against the Almighty, |
| 26"He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield. | 26defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield. |
| 27"For he has covered his face with his fat And made his thighs heavy with flesh. | 27"Though his face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh, |
| 28"He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins. | 28he will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble. |
| 29"He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his grain will not bend down to the ground. | 29He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land. |
| 30"He will not escape from darkness; The flame will wither his shoots, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away. | 30He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away. |
| 31"Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness will be his reward. | 31Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless, for he will get nothing in return. |
| 32"It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green. | 32Before his time he will wither, and his branches will not flourish. |
| 33"He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will cast off his flower like the olive tree. | 33He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms. |
| 34"For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt. | 34For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes. |
| 35"They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, And their mind prepares deception." | 35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb fashions deceit." |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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