Eliphaz: Job Does Not Fear God 1 UDB Then Eliphaz replied to Job: BSB BSB: Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 UDB "If you were truly wise, you would not have replied to us by claiming that you know a lot; what you are saying is just a lot of hot air. BSB BSB: “Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
3 UDB You should not be saying things that do not benefit anyone; you should not say things that do no one any good. BSB BSB: Should he argue with useless words or speeches that serve no purpose?
4 UDB You are teaching others not to respect God, and you are keeping them from honoring him. BSB BSB: But you even undermine the fear of God and hinder meditation before Him.
5 UDB You are wicked, and that is why you say what you do; you talk like deceptive people talk. BSB BSB: For your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.
6 UDB Everything that you say shows that God should punish you; it is not necessary for me to prove that. BSB BSB: Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you; your own lips testify against you.
7 UDB Tell me, why do you think you know so much? You do not think that you were the first person who was ever born, do you? You do not think that you were born before God created the mountains, do you? BSB BSB: Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills?
8 UDB Were you listening when God made all his plans? Do you think that you are the only person who is wise? BSB BSB: Do you listen in on the council of God or limit wisdom to yourself?
9 UDB What do you know that we others do not know? You do not understand anything that is not also clear to us. BSB BSB: What do you know that we do not? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 UDB My friends and I are also wise; we acquired wisdom from old gray-haired people, from people who were born before your father was. BSB BSB: Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—men much older than your father.
11 UDB God wants to comfort you and to speak gently to you; that should be enough for you, but it is not enough, is it? BSB BSB: Are the consolations of God not enough for you, even words spoken gently to you?
12 UDB Why do you allow yourself to be excited by your emotions? Why do your eyes flash with anger? BSB BSB: Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13 UDB You are angry with God, and so you say harsh things against him. BSB BSB: so that you turn your spirit against God and pour such words from your mouth?
14 UDB How can any person, including you, be sinless? How can anyone on the earth be completely righteous? BSB BSB: What is man, that he should be pure, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
15 UDB God does not even trust his angels; he does not consider the heavens to be completely pure. BSB BSB: If God puts no trust in His holy ones, if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,
16 UDB So he certainly does not trust disgusting people, those who commit evil deeds as often as they drink water. BSB BSB: how much less man, who is vile and corrupt, who drinks injustice like water?
17 UDB Job, listen to what I tell you. I will declare to you what I know, BSB BSB: Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,
18 UDB things that wise men have told me, truths that their ancestors did not keep hidden. BSB BSB: what was declared by wise men and was not concealed from their fathers,
19 UDB (God gave this land to those ancestors who were truly wise; no one from another country came and caused them to think wrongly about God.) BSB BSB: to whom alone the land was given when no foreigner passed among them.
20 UDB Wicked people suffer with great pain all the time that they are alive; that is what happens to those who oppress others. BSB BSB: A wicked man writhes in pain all his days; only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.
21 UDB They constantly hear sounds that terrify them; while they are prospering, robbers attack them. BSB BSB: Sounds of terror fill his ears; in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.
22 UDB Wicked people do not really think that they will escape from darkness; they are sure that someone is waiting to kill them with a sword. BSB BSB: He despairs of his return from darkness; he is marked for the sword.
23 UDB They wander around, searching for food, saying 'Where can I find some?' They know that they will soon experience disasters. BSB BSB: He wanders about as food for vultures; he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24 UDB Because they are afraid of those things happening to them, they worry that these things will attack them as a king's army waits to attack its enemies and causes them to suffer. BSB BSB: Distress and anguish terrify him, overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.
25 UDB These things happen to them because they shook their fists against Almighty God and thought that they were strong enough to defeat him. BSB BSB: For he has stretched out his hand against God and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,
26 UDB They stubbornly rush to attack God thinking that a strong shield will protect them. BSB BSB: rushing headlong at Him with a thick, studded shield.
27 UDB But they are so fat that they are unable to fight. BSB BSB: Though his face is covered with fat and his waistline bulges with flesh,
28 UDB They have lived in cities that have been abandoned, cities which God declared would become a heap of ruins. BSB BSB: he will dwell in ruined cities, in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.
29 UDB But they will not remain rich very long; Others will take everything that they own, and even their shadows will disappear from the earth. BSB BSB: He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure. His possessions will not overspread the land.
30 UDB They will not escape from the darkness of death; they will be like trees whose branches burn up. When God gives the command, they will die. BSB BSB: He will not escape from the darkness; the flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God’s mouth will carry him away.
31 UDB If they are very foolish, with the result that they trust in things that are really worthless, then things that are worthless will be all that they get. BSB BSB: Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward.
32 UDB While they are still young, they will disappear; they will be like branches that wither and never become green again. BSB BSB: It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not flourish.
33 UDB They will be like vines whose grapes fall off before they are ripe, like olive trees whose blossoms fall off before they produce any fruit. BSB BSB: He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.
34 UDB Groups of wicked people will not have any descendants, and fires will completely burn up the homes of those who took money from bribes. BSB BSB: For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.
35 UDB They plan to cause trouble and to do evil things, and in their hearts they are always preparing to deceive people." BSB BSB: They conceive trouble and give birth to evil; their womb is pregnant with deceit.”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.