| 1 | But Eliphaz the Themanite, answering, said: |
| 2 | Will a wise man answer as if he were speaking wind, and will he fill his stomach with fire? |
| 3 | You rebuke with words he who is not equal to you, and you speak what is not expedient for you, |
| 4 | to such an extent that, within yourself, you have expelled reverence and have taken away prayers from the presence of God. |
| 5 | For your iniquity has mislead your mouth, and you imitate the tongue of blasphemers. |
| 6 | Your own mouth will condemn you, not I; and your own lips will answer you. |
| 7 | Are you the first man who was born, or were you formed before the hills? |
| 8 | Have you heard the intentions of God, and will his wisdom be inferior to you? |
| 9 | What do you know, about which we are ignorant? What do you understand that we do not know? |
| 10 | There are with us both aged and ancient men, even more senior than your fathers. |
| 11 | Is it so important that God should console you? But your own depraved words prevent this. |
| 12 | Why does your heart exalt you, and why do you gaze with your eyes, as if thinking great things? |
| 13 | Why does your spirit stir against God, so as to utter such speeches from your mouth? |
| 14 | What is man that he should be immaculate, and that he should appear just, having been born of woman? |
| 15 | Behold, among his holy ones not one is immutable, and even the heavens are not pure in his sight. |
| 16 | How much more abominable and useless is the man who drinks as if from the water of iniquity? |
| 17 | I will reveal to you, so listen to me; and I will explain to you what I have seen. |
| 18 | The wise acknowledge, and they do not leave behind, their fathers, |
| 19 | to whom alone the earth has been given, and no stranger passed among them. |
| 20 | The impious is arrogant for all his days, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain. |
| 21 | The sound of terror is always in his ears; and when there is peace, he always suspects treason. |
| 22 | He does not believe that it is possible for him to be turned from darkness into the light, for he sees around him the sword on every side. |
| 23 | When he moves himself to seek bread, he knows that the day of darkness has been prepared for his hand. |
| 24 | Tribulation will terrify him, and anguish will prevail over him, like a king who is being prepared to go to battle. |
| 25 | For he has extended his hand against God, and he has strengthened himself against the Almighty. |
| 26 | He has rushed against him with his throat exposed, and he has been armed with a fat neck. |
| 27 | Thickness has covered his face, and lard hangs down from his sides. |
| 28 | He has lived in desolate cities and deserted houses, which have been turned into tombs. |
| 29 | He will not be enriched, nor will his basic necessities endure, nor will he establish his root in the earth. |
| 30 | He will not withdraw from the darkness; the flame will burn up his branches, and he will be defeated by the breath of his own mouth. |
| 31 | He will not believe, being vainly deceived by error, that he could be redeemed at any price. |
| 32 | Before his time is completed, he will pass into ruin and his hands will wither away. |
| 33 | He will be wounded like a grapevine, when its cluster is in first flower, and like an olive tree that casts off its flower. |
| 34 | For the congregation of the hypocrites is fruitless, and fire will devour the tabernacles of those who love to accept money. |
| 35 | He has conceived sorrow, and he has brought forth iniquity, and his womb prepares deceit. |
