Job 15–17: The Second Cycle Begins: Eliphaz Hardens, and Job Appeals to Heaven Against Heaven
Scripture: Berean Standard Bible
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
“Does a wise man answer with empty counselor fill his belly with the hot east wind?Should he argue with useless wordsor speeches that serve no purpose?But you even undermine the fear of Godand hinder meditation before him.For your iniquity instructs your mouth,and you choose the language of the crafty.Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you;your own lips testify against you.
Were you the first man ever born?Were you brought forth before the hills?Do you listen in on the council of Godor limit wisdom to yourself?What do you know that we do not?What do you understand that is not clear to us?Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father.Are the consolations of God not enough for you,even words spoken gently to you?Why has your heart carried you away,and why do your eyes flash,as you turn your spirit against Godand pour such words from your mouth?
What is man, that he should be pure,or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?If God puts no trust in his holy ones,if even the heavens are not pure in his eyes,how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,who drinks injustice like water?Listen to me and I will inform you.I will describe what I have seen,what was declared by wise menand was not concealed from their fathers,to whom alone the land was givenwhen no foreigner passed among them.
A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.Sounds of terror fill his ears;in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.He despairs of his return from darkness;he is marked for the sword.He wanders about as food for vultures;he knows the day of darkness is at hand.Distress and anguish terrify him,overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.For he has stretched out his hand against Godand has vaunted himself against the Almighty,rushing headlong at himwith a thick, studded shield.
Though his face is covered with fatand his waistline bulges with flesh,he will dwell in ruined cities,in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.His possessions will not overspread the land.He will not escape from the darkness;the flame will wither his shoots,and the breath of God’s mouthwill carry him away.
Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness,for emptiness will be his reward.It will be paid in full before his time,and his branch will not flourish.He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.For the company of the godless will be barren,and fire will consume the tents of bribery.They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;their womb is pregnant with deceit.”
Then Job answered:
“I have heard many things like these;miserable comforters are you all.Is there no end to your long-winded speeches?What provokes you to continue testifying?I could also speak like youif you were in my place;I could heap up words against youand shake my head at you.But I would encourage you with my mouth,and the consolation of my lips would bring relief.
Even if I speak, my pain is not relieved,and if I hold back, how will it go away?Surely he has now exhausted me;you have devastated all my family.You have bound me, and it has become a witness;my frailty rises up and testifies against me.His anger has torn me and opposed me;he gnashes his teeth at me.My adversary pierces me with his eyes.
They open their mouths against meand strike my cheeks with contempt;they join together against me.God has delivered me to unjust men;he has thrown me to the clutches of the wicked.I was at ease, but he shattered me;he seized me by the neck and crushed me.He has set me up as his target;his archers surround me.He pierces my kidneys without mercyand spills my gall on the ground.He breaks me with wound upon wound;he rushes me like a mighty warrior.
I have sewn sackcloth over my skin;I have buried my horn in the dust.My face is red with weeping,and deep shadows ring my eyes;yet my hands are free of violenceand my prayer is pure.
O earth, do not cover my blood;may my cry for help never be laid to rest.Even now my witness is in heaven,and my advocate is on high.My friends are my scoffersas my eyes pour out tears to God.Oh, that a man might plead with Godas he pleads with his neighbor!For when only a few years are pastI will go the way of no return.“My spirit is broken; my days are extinguished;the grave awaits me.Surely mockers surround me,and my eyes must gaze at their rebellion.
Give me, I pray, the pledge you demand.Who else will be my guarantor?You have closed their minds to understanding;therefore you will not exalt them.If a man denounces his friends for a price,the eyes of his children will fail.
He has made me a byword among the people,a man in whose face they spit.My eyes have grown dim with grief,and my whole body is but a shadow.The upright are appalled at this,and the innocent are stirred against the godless.Yet a righteous one holds to his way,and the one with clean hands grows stronger.But come back and try again, all of you.For I will not find a wise man among you.
My days have passed; my plans are broken off—even the desires of my heart.They have turned night into day,making light seem near in the face of darkness.If I look for Sheol as my home,if I spread out my bed in darkness,and say to corruption, ‘You are my father,’and to the worm, ‘My mother,’ or ‘My sister,’where then is my hope?Who can see any hope for me?Will it go down to the gates of Sheol?Will we go down together into the dust?”