| 1 | Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: | |
| 2 | "Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind? | |
| 3 | Should he reason with unprofitable talk, Or by speeches with which he can do no good? | |
| 4 | Yes, you cast off fear, And restrain prayer before God. | |
| 5 | For your iniquity teaches your mouth, And you choose the tongue of the crafty. | |
| 6 | Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; Yes, your own lips testify against you. | |
| 7 | "Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills? | |
| 8 | Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? | |
| 9 | What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? | |
| 10 | Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Much older than your father. | |
| 11 | Are the consolations of God too small for you, And the word spoken gently with you? | |
| 12 | Why does your heart carry you away, And what do your eyes wink at, | |
| 13 | That you turn your spirit against God, And let such words go out of your mouth? | |
| 14 | "What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? | |
| 15 | If God puts no trust in His saints, And the heavens are not pure in His sight, | |
| 16 | How much less man, who is abominable and filthy, Who drinks iniquity like water! | |
| 17 | "I will tell you, hear me; What I have seen I will declare, | |
| 18 | What wise men have told, Not hiding anything received from their fathers, | |
| 19 | To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them: | |
| 20 | The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor. | |
| 21 | Dreadful sounds are in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him. | |
| 22 | He does not believe that he will return from darkness, For a sword is waiting for him. | |
| 23 | He wanders about for bread, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand. | |
| 24 | Trouble and anguish make him afraid; They overpower him, like a king ready for battle. | |
| 25 | For he stretches out his hand against God, And acts defiantly against the Almighty, | |
| 26 | Running stubbornly against Him With his strong, embossed shield. | |
| 27 | "Though he has covered his face with his fatness, And made his waist heavy with fat, | |
| 28 | He dwells in desolate cities, In houses which no one inhabits, Which are destined to become ruins. | |
| 29 | He will not be rich, Nor will his wealth continue, Nor will his possessions overspread the earth. | |
| 30 | He will not depart from darkness; The flame will dry out his branches, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away. | |
| 31 | Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself, For futility will be his reward. | |
| 32 | It will be accomplished before his time, And his branch will not be green. | |
| 33 | He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, And cast off his blossom like an olive tree. | |
| 34 | For the company of hypocrites will be barren, And fire will consume the tents of bribery. | |
| 35 | They conceive trouble and bring forth futility; Their womb prepares deceit." | |