1 THEN answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
2 Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
3 Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?
4 Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.
5 For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.
7 Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?
8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
9 What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?
10 With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father.
11 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?
12 Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,
13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?
14 What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
17 I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;
18 Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it:
19 Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
21 A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
22 He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
26 He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:
27 Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks.
28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.
29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.
30 He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
31 Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence.
32 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
33 He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.
34 For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.
35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

1Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,

2Should a wise man vtter vaine knowledge, and fill his belly with the East winde?

3Should hee reason with vnprofitable talke? or with speeches wherewith he can doe no good?

4Yea thou castest off feare, and restrainest prayer before God.

5For thy mouth vttereth thine iniquitie, and thou choosest the tongue of the craftie.

6Thine owne mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea thine owne lippes testifie against thee.

7Art thou the first man that was borne? or wast thou made before the hilles?

8Hast thou heard the secret of God? and doest thou restraine wisedome to thy selfe?

9What knowest thou that we know not? what vnderstandest thou, which is not in vs?

10With vs are both the gray headed, and very aged men, much elder then thy father.

11Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?

12Why doeth thine heart carie thee away? and what doe thine eyes winke at,

13That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words goe out of thy mouth?

14What is man, that he should be cleane? and he which is borne of a woman, that he should be righteous?

15Beholde, he putteth no trust in his Saints, yea, the heauens are not cleane in his sight.

16How much more abominable and filthie is man, which drinketh iniquitie like water?

17I will shew thee, heare me, and that which I haue seene, I wil declare,

18Which wise men haue tolde from their fathers, and haue not hid it:

19Unto whom alone the earth was giuen, and no stranger passed among them.

20The wicked man trauaileth with paine all his dayes, and the number of yeeres is hidden to the oppressour.

21A dreadfull sound is in his eares; in prosperitie the destroyer shall come vpon him.

22He beleeueth not that he shall returne out of darkenesse, and he is waited for, of the sword.

23He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkenes is ready at his hand.

24Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall preuaile against him, as a king ready to the battell.

25For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himselfe against the Almightie.

26He runneth vpon him, euen on his necke, vpon the thicke bosses of his bucklers:

27Because he couereth his face with his fatnesse, and maketh collops of fat on his flankes.

28And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heapes.

29He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof vpon the earth.

30He shall not depart out of darkenesse, the flame shall drie vp his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he goe away.

31Let not him that is deceiued, trust in vanitie: for vanitie shalbe his recompence.

32It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not bee greene.

33He shal shake off his vnripe grape as the Uine, and shall cast off his flowre as the Oliue.

34For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of briberie.

35They conceiue mischiefe, and bring forth vanitie, and their belly prepareth deceit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

VI == Luke 19:22

 

 

 

VII == Ps 90:2 ; Prov 8:25

VIII == Rom 11:34 ; 1st Cor 2:11

IX == Job 13:2

X == Job 32:6-7

 

 

 

 

 

 

XIV == 1st Kings 8:46 ; 2nd Chr 6:36 ; JOb 14:4 ; Ps 14:3 ; Prov 20:9 ; Eccl 7:20 ; 1st John 1:8 , 10

XV == Job 4:18 ; 25:5

XVI == Job 4:19 ; 34:7 ; Ps 14:3 ; 53:3 ; Prov 19:28

XVIII == JOb 8:8

XIX == Joel 3:17

 

XX == Ps 90:12

 

XXI == 1st Thess 5:3

 

 

 

XXIII == JOb 18:12 ; Ps 59:15 ; 109:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXVII == Ps 17:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXX == Job 4:9

 

 

XXXI == Isa 59:4

 

XXXII == Job 22:16 ; Ps 55:23

 

 

 

 

 

XXXV == Ps 7:14 ; Isa 59:4 ; Hos 10:13

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite spoke and said:

2 Should a wise man answer with airy opinions, or puff himself up with wind?

3 Should he argue in speech which does not avail, and in words which are to no profit?

4 You in fact do away with piety, and you lessen devotion toward God,

5 Because your wickedness instructs your mouth, and you choose to speak like the crafty.

6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I; you own lips refute you.

7 Are you indeed the first-born of mankind, or were you brought forth before the hills?

8 Are you privy to the counsels of God, and do you restrict wisdom to yourself?

9 What do you know that we do not know? What intelligence have you which we have not?

10 There are gray-haired old men among us more advanced in years than your father.

11 Are the consolations of God not enough for you, and speech that deals gently with you?

12 Why do your notions carry you away, and why do your eyes blink,

13 So that you turn your anger against God and let such words escape your mouth!

14 What is a man that he should be blameless, one born of woman that he should be righteous?

15 If in his holy ones God places no confidence, and if the heavens are not clean in his sight,

16 How much less so is the abominable, the corrupt: man, who drinks in iniquity like water!

17 I will show you, if you listen to me; what I have seen I will tell - 

18 What wise men relate and have not contradicted since the days of their fathers,

19 To whom alone the land was given, when no foreigner moved among them.

20 The wicked man is in torment all his days, and limited years are in store for the tyrant;

21 The sound of terrors is in his ears; when all is prosperous, the spoiler comes upon him.

22 He despairs of escaping the darkness, and looks ever for the sword;

23 A wanderer, food for the vultures, he knows that his destruction is imminent.

24 By day the darkness fills him with dread; distress and anguish overpower him.

25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God and bade defiance to the Almighty,

26 One shall rush sternly upon him with the stout bosses of his shield, like a king prepared for the charge.

27 Because he has blinded himself with his crassness, padding his loins with fat,

28 He shall dwell in ruinous cities, in houses that are deserted, That are crumbling into clay

29 with no shadow to lengthen over the ground. He shall not be rich, and his possessions shall not endure;

31 for vain shall be his bartering.

30 A flame shall wither him up in his early growth, and with the wind his blossoms shall disappear.

32 His stalk shall wither before its time, and his branches shall be green no more.

33 He shall be like a vine that sheds its grapes unripened, and like an olive tree casting off its bloom.

34 For the breed of the impious shall be sterile, and fire shall consume the tents of extortioners.

35 They conceive malice and bring forth emptiness; they give birth to failure.

v 1-3. Eliphaz was upset with Job’s defense and compares what should be wise  talk from Job to an east wind which causes things to wither and does no good.

 

v 4-6. Eliphaz considers Job’s talk to be irreverent, his sin comes from within, and picking up on Job’s own words in 9:20, says his own mouth condemns him.

 

 

v 7-10. Eliphaz chooses to condemn instead of console. Job had said he was as wise as they, but he accuses Job of boasting, and since some of them were older than Job’s father, they were therefore wiser. (Implying, should be respected for their age.)

 

 

 

 

v 11-13. They had given God’s consolations to Job too gently to do any good, yet his eyes had flashed in anger, and he should be punished for disrespect to God.

 

v 14-16. No man can’t be pure when even angels are not. Job had claimed to be innocent, but he was drinking up sin like it was water.

 

 

 

 

v 17-20. Eliphaz backs up his observation with what wise men had supposed to have learned from their own fathers, that wicked men always suffer torment in this life. However, that is an unfair assumption.

 

 

 

v 21-26. Job had commented on the prosperity of the wicked, but Eliphaz says terrorizing news will come to them in their prosperity, a direct slam at Job’s losses. He  lists about 17 troubles that will befall sinners, because they have been defiant to God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 27-35. Eliphaz continues that wicked become fat and live in pleasure, so many things will befall them. Among them are loss of wealth and possessions, another slap at Job. (In 31:24, 25, Job will deny trusting in possessions.) The godless will die before the time, not have children, and possessions be burned. By examining each verse, we can see repeated cruel comparisons to Job’s losses. There are intermittent comments that these are because of sin, and in verse 36, sums it up that all these things are the result of mischief and deceit in the heart of the offender