New Living Translation

Berean Standard Bible

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

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

2“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

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

3Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose?

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

4But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before Him.

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

5For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.

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

6Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you.

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

7Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?

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

8Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself?

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

9What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us?

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

10Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father.

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

11Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you?

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

12Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,

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

13so that you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth?

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

14What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

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

15If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,

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

16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?

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

17Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,

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

18what was declared by wise men and was 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 when no foreigner passed among them.

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

20A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

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

21Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.

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

22He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.

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

23He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

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

24Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.

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

25For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,

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

26rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield.

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

27Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,

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

28he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.

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

29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land.

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

30He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.

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

31Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.

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

32It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.

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.

33He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

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

34For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.

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

35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”

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.

This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.