New Living Translation

New American Standard Bible 1995

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

2“A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag.

2"Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge And fill himself with the east wind?

3The wise don’t engage in empty chatter. What good are such words?

3"Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which are not profitable?

4Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him?

4"Indeed, you do away with reverence And hinder meditation before God.

5Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception.

5"For your guilt teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of the crafty.

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

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

7“Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made?

7"Were you the first man to be born, Or were you brought forth before the hills?

8Were you listening at God’s secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?

8"Do you hear the secret counsel of God, And limit wisdom to yourself?

9What do you know that we don’t? What do you understand that we do not?

9"What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not?

10On our side are aged, gray-haired men much older than your father!

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

11“Is God’s comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough?

11"Are the consolations of God too small for you, Even the word spoken gently with you?

12What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision,

12"Why does your heart carry you away? And why do your eyes flash,

13that you turn against God and say all these evil things?

13That you should turn your spirit against God And allow such words to go out of your mouth?

14Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just?

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

15Look, God does not even trust the angels. Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.

15"Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight;

16How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst for wickedness!

16How much less one who is detestable and corrupt, Man, who drinks iniquity like water!

17“If you will listen, I will show you. I will answer you from my own experience.

17"I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare;

18And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers—

18What wise men have told, And have not concealed from their fathers,

19from those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived.

19To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them.

20“The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives. Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.

20"The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless.

21The sound of terror rings in their ears, and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.

21"Sounds of terror are in his ears; While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

22They dare not go out into the darkness for fear they will be murdered.

22"He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword.

23They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’ They know their day of destruction is near.

23"He wanders about for food, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.

24That dark day terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish, like a king preparing for battle.

24"Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,

25For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty.

25Because he has stretched out his hand against God And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty.

26Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge against him.

26"He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield.

27“These wicked people are heavy and prosperous; their waists bulge with fat.

27"For he has covered his face with his fat And made his thighs heavy with flesh.

28But their cities will be ruined. They will live in abandoned houses that are ready to tumble down.

28"He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins.

29Their riches will not last, and their wealth will not endure. Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.

29"He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his grain will not bend down to the ground.

30“They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them.

30"He will not escape from darkness; The flame will wither his shoots, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

31Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward.

31"Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness will be his reward.

32They will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green.

32"It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green.

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.

33"He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.

34For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.

34"For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.

35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb produces deceit.”

35"They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, And their mind prepares deception."

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.

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