King James Bible | International Standard Version |
1Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said, | 1Then Eliphaz from Teman responded: |
2Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? | 2"Should a wise person respond with knowledge based on wind? Should he fill his stomach with a wind storm from the east? |
3Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? | 3Should he engage in unprofitable argument, or give a speech that benefits no one? |
4Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. | 4Yet you dispense with fear of God and hinder meditations before God. |
5For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. | 5Because your sin dictates your speech, you have chosen the language of the crafty. |
6Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee. | 6Your own mouth is condemning you, not I; your own lips will testify against you." |
7Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? | 7"Were you the first person to be born? Were you brought forth before the hills were made? |
8Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? | 8Have you listened in on God's secret council? Have you limited wisdom only to yourself? |
9What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us? | 9What do you know that we don't know, or that you understand and that isn't clear to us? |
10With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. | 10"We have both the gray-haired and the aged with us, and they are far older than your father. |
11Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee? | 11Are God's encouragements inconsequential to you, even a word that has been spoken gently to you? |
12Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at, | 12Why have your emotions carried you away? And why do your eyes flash |
13That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth? | 13that you turn your anger against God and speak words like this? |
14What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? | 14"What is mankind, that he can be blameless? Or does being born of a woman mean he'll be in the right? |
15Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. | 15Look, if God doesn't trust his holy ones, if even the heavens aren't pure as he looks at them, |
16How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? | 16then how much less is one who is abhorred and corrupted, such as a man who drinks injustice like water?" |
17I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare; | 17"I'll tell you what, listen to me! Let me relate what I've seen, |
18Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: | 18which is what wise men have explained, who didn't withhold anything from their ancestors. |
19Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them. | 19To them alone was the land given, when no invader passed through their midst. |
20The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. | 20"The wicked person writhes in pain throughout his life, a number of years has been reserved for the ruthless. |
21A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him. | 21Terrifying sounds ring in his ears; when times are prosperous, the Destroyer will attack him. |
22He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword. | 22He does not believe he will escape darkness; he is destined for the sword. |
23He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand. | 23He wanders around for food—where is it? He knows that a time of darkness is near. |
24Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle. | 24Distress and pressure terrify him; they overwhelm him, like a king poised for attack. |
25For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty. | 25"For he has raised his fist against God, defying the Almighty. |
26He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: | 26He defiantly ran against him carrying his thick, reinforced shield. |
27Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. | 27Though he covered his face with fat, and is grossly overweight at the waist, |
28And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps. | 28He will live in devastated towns, in abandoned houses that are about to become heaps of rubble. |
29He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. | 29"He won't become rich and his wealth won't last; he won't expand his holdings to cover the land. |
30He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away. | 30He won't escape darkness; a flame will wither his shoots; and he'll depart by the breath of God's mouth. |
31Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. | 31Let him not trust in a worthless speech. He leads only himself astray, for emptiness will be his reward. |
32It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green. | 32This will be accomplished before his time; his branches won't grow luxuriant. |
33He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. | 33"He is like a vine that drops its unripe grapes; like an olive tree that loses its blossoms. |
34For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. | 34For the company of the godless is desolation, and fire consumes the tents of those who bribe. |
35They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit. | 35For they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity; their womb is pregnant with deception." |
King James Bible, text courtesy of BibleProtector.com. | The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. |
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