1Then Eliphaz from Teman replied [to Job],

2"Should a wise person answer with endless details and fill his stomach with the east wind?

3Should he argue with words that don't help, with speeches that don't help [anyone]?

4Yes, you destroy the fear [of God] and diminish devotion to God.

5Your sin teaches you what to say. You choose [to talk with] a sly tongue.

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

7"Were you the first human to be born? Were you delivered before the hills [existed]?

8Did you listen in on God's council meeting and receive a monopoly on wisdom?

9What do you know that we don't know? What do you understand that we don't?

10Both the old and the gray-haired are among us. They are older than your father.

11Isn't God's comfort enough for you, even when gently spoken to you?

12Why have your emotions carried you away? Why do your eyes flash

13when you turn against God and spit these words out of your mouth?

14Why should a mortal be considered faultless or someone born of a woman be considered righteous?

15If God doesn't trust his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight,

16how much less will he trust the one who is disgusting and corrupt, the one who drinks wickedness like water.

17"I'll tell you; listen to me! I'll relate what I have seen.

18I'll tell you what wise people have declared and what was not kept secret from their ancestors.

19(The land was given to them alone, and no stranger passed through their land.)

20"The wicked person is tortured all his days. Only a few years are reserved for the ruthless person.

21Terrifying sounds are in his ears. While he enjoys peace, the destroyer comes to him.

22He doesn't believe he'll return from the dark. He is destined [to be killed] with a sword.

23He wanders around for food and asks, 'Where is it?' He knows that his ruin is close at hand.

24"The day of darkness troubles him. Distress and anguish terrify him like a king ready for battle.

25He stretches out his hand against God and attacks the Almighty like a warrior.

26He stubbornly charges at him with a thick shield.

27"His face is bloated with fat, and he is fat around the waist.

28He lives in ruined cities where no one dwells, in houses that are doomed to be piles of rubble.

29He won't get rich, and his wealth won't last. His possessions won't spread out over the land.

30"He won't escape the darkness. A flame will shrivel his branches. He will be blown away by his own breath.

31He shouldn't trust in worthless things and deceive himself because he will get worthless things in return.

32It will happen before his time has come, and his branch will not become green.

33He will drop his unripened grapes like a vine and throw off his blossoms like an olive tree

34because a mob of godless people produces nothing, and fire burns up the tents of those who offer bribes.

35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their wombs produce deception."