New King James Version | New Living Translation |
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: | 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
2“Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind? | 2“A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag. |
3Should he reason with unprofitable talk, Or by speeches with which he can do no good? | 3The wise don’t engage in empty chatter. What good are such words? |
4Yes, you cast off fear, And restrain prayer before God. | 4Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him? |
5For your iniquity teaches your mouth, And you choose the tongue of the crafty. | 5Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception. |
6Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; Yes, your own lips testify against you. | 6Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Your own lips testify against you. |
7“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you made before the hills? | 7“Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made? |
8Have you heard the counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself? | 8Were you listening at God’s secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom? |
9What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not in us? | 9What do you know that we don’t? What do you understand that we do not? |
10Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Much older than your father. | 10On our side are aged, gray-haired men much older than your father! |
11Are the consolations of God too small for you, And the word spoken gently with you? | 11“Is God’s comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough? |
12Why does your heart carry you away, And what do your eyes wink at, | 12What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision, |
13That you turn your spirit against God, And let such words go out of your mouth? | 13that you turn against God and say all these evil things? |
14“What is man, that he could be pure? And he who is born of a woman, that he could be righteous? | 14Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just? |
15If God puts no trust in His saints, And the heavens are not pure in His sight, | 15Look, God does not even trust the angels. Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight. |
16How much less man, who is abominable and filthy, Who drinks iniquity like water! | 16How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst for wickedness! |
17“I will tell you, hear me; What I have seen I will declare, | 17“If you will listen, I will show you. I will answer you from my own experience. |
18What wise men have told, Not hiding anything received from their fathers, | 18And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers— |
19To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them: | 19from those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived. |
20The wicked man writhes with pain all his days, And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor. | 20“The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives. Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless. |
21Dreadful sounds are in his ears; In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him. | 21The sound of terror rings in their ears, and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer. |
22He does not believe that he will return from darkness, For a sword is waiting for him. | 22They dare not go out into the darkness for fear they will be murdered. |
23He wanders about for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand. | 23They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’ They know their day of destruction is near. |
24Trouble and anguish make him afraid; They overpower him, like a king ready for battle. | 24That dark day terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish, like a king preparing for battle. |
25For he stretches out his hand against God, And acts defiantly against the Almighty, | 25For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty. |
26Running stubbornly against Him With his strong, embossed shield. | 26Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge against him. |
27“Though he has covered his face with his fatness, And made his waist heavy with fat, | 27“These wicked people are heavy and prosperous; their waists bulge with fat. |
28He dwells in desolate cities, In houses which no one inhabits, Which are destined to become ruins. | 28But their cities will be ruined. They will live in abandoned houses that are ready to tumble down. |
29He will not be rich, Nor will his wealth continue, Nor will his possessions overspread the earth. | 29Their riches will not last, and their wealth will not endure. Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon. |
30He will not depart from darkness; The flame will dry out his branches, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away. | 30“They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them. |
31Let him not trust in futile things, deceiving himself, For futility will be his reward. | 31Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward. |
32It will be accomplished before his time, And his branch will not be green. | 32They will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green. |
33He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine, And cast off his blossom like an olive tree. | 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. |
34For the company of hypocrites will be barren, And fire will consume the tents of bribery. | 34For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn. |
35They conceive trouble and bring forth futility; Their womb prepares deceit.” | 35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb produces deceit.” |
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | 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. |
|