Job:15

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said : * "Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge , And fill himself with the east wind ? * Should he reason with unprofitable talk , Or by speeches with which he can do no good ? * Yes , you cast off fear , And restrain prayer before God . * For your iniquity teaches your mouth , And you choose the tongue of the crafty . * Your own mouth condemns you , and not I ; Yes , your own lips testify against you . * "Are you the first man who was born ? Or were you made before the hills ? * Have you heard the counsel of God ? Do you limit wisdom to yourself ? * What do you know that we do not know ? What do you understand that is not in us ? * Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us , Much older than your father . * Are the consolations of God too small for you , And the word spoken gently with you ? * Why does your heart carry you away , And what do your eyes wink at , * That you turn your spirit against God , And let such words go out of your mouth ? * "What is man , that he could be pure ? And he who is born of a woman , that he could be righteous ? * If God puts no trust in His saints , And the heavens are not pure in His sight , * How much less man , who is abominable and filthy , Who drinks iniquity like water ! * "I will tell you , hear me ; What I have seen I will declare , * What wise men have told , Not hiding anything received from their fathers , * To whom alone the land was given , And no alien passed among them : * The wicked man writhes with pain all his days , And the number of years is hidden from the oppressor . * Dreadful sounds are in his ears ; In prosperity the destroyer comes upon him . * He does not believe that he will return from darkness , For a sword is waiting for him . * He wanders about for bread , saying , "Where is it ?' He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand . * Trouble and anguish make him afraid ; They overpower him , like a king ready for battle . * For he stretches out his hand against God , And acts defiantly against the Almighty , * Running stubbornly against Him With his strong , embossed shield . * "Though he has covered his face with his fatness , And made his waist heavy with fat , * He dwells in desolate cities , In houses which no one inhabits , Which are destined to become ruins . * He will not be rich , Nor will his wealth continue , Nor will his possessions overspread the earth . * He will not depart from darkness ; The flame will dry out his branches , And by the breath of His mouth he will go away . * Let him not trust in futile things , deceiving himself , For futility will be his reward . * It will be accomplished before his time , And his branch will not be green . * He will shake off his unripe grape like a vine , And cast off his blossom like an olive tree . * For the company of hypocrites will be barren , And fire will consume the tents of bribery . * They conceive trouble and bring forth futility ; Their womb prepares deceit ."

---