¹ Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded, ² “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
And fill himself with the east wind? ³ “Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which are not profitable? ⁴ “Indeed, you do away with reverence
And hinder meditation before God. ⁵ “For your guilt teaches your mouth,
And you choose the language of the crafty. ⁶ “Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;
And your own lips testify against you. ⁷ “Were you the first man to be born,
Or were you brought forth before the hills? ⁸ “Do you hear the secret counsel of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself? ⁹ “What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that we do not? ¹⁰ “Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father. ¹¹ “Are the consolations of God too small for you,
Even the word spoken gently with you? ¹² “Why does your heart carry you away?
And why do your eyes flash, ¹³ That you should turn your spirit against God
And allow such words to go out of your mouth? ¹⁴ “What is man, that he should be pure,
Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? ¹⁵ “Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones,
And the heavens are not pure in His sight; ¹⁶ How much less one who is detestable and corrupt,
Man, who drinks iniquity like water! What Eliphaz Has Seen of Life ¹⁷ “I will tell you, listen to me;
And what I have seen I will also declare; ¹⁸ What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from their fathers, ¹⁹ To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them. ²⁰ “The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless. ²¹ “Sounds of terror are in his ears;
While at peace the destroyer comes upon him. ²² “He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
And he is destined for the sword. ²³ “He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is at hand. ²⁴ “Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack, ²⁵ Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty. ²⁶ “He rushes headlong at Him
With his massive shield. ²⁷ “For he has covered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh. ²⁸ “He has lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ruins. ²⁹ “He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not bend down to the ground. ³⁰ “He will not escape from darkness;
The flame will wither his shoots,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away. ³¹ “Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his reward. ³² “It will be accomplished before his time,
And his palm branch will not be green. ³³ “He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will cast off his flower like the olive tree. ³⁴ “For the company of the godless is barren,
And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt. ³⁵ “They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity,
And their mind prepares deception.”