Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded, "Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge And fill himself with the east wind? "Should he argue with useless talk, Or with words which are not profitable? "Indeed, you do away with reverence And hinder meditation before God. "For your guilt teaches your mouth, And you choose the language of the crafty. "Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; And your own lips testify against you. "Were you the first man to be born, Or were you brought forth before the hills? "Do you hear the secret counsel of God, And limit wisdom to yourself? "What do you know that we do not know? [What] do you understand that we do not? "Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, Older than your father. "Are the consolations of God too small for you, Even the word [spoken] gently with you? "Why does your heart carry you away? And why do your eyes flash, That you should turn your spirit against God And allow [such] words to go out of your mouth? "What is man, that he should be pure, Or he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? "Behold, He puts no trust in His holy ones, And the heavens are not pure in His sight; How much less one who is detestable and corrupt, Man, who drinks iniquity like water! "I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare; What wise men have told, And have not concealed from their fathers, To whom alone the land was given, And no alien passed among them. "The wicked man writhes in pain all [his] days, And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless. "Sounds of terror are in his ears; While at peace the destroyer comes upon him. "He does not believe that he will return from darkness, And he is destined for the sword. "He wanders about for food, saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that a day of darkness is at hand. "Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack, Because he has stretched out his hand against God And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty. "He rushes headlong at Him With his massive shield. "For he has covered his face with his fat And made his thighs heavy with flesh. "He has lived in desolate cities, In houses no one would inhabit, Which are destined to become ruins. "He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure; And his grain will not bend down to the ground. "He will not escape from darkness; The flame will wither his shoots, And by the breath of His mouth he will go away. "Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness will be his reward. "It will be accomplished before his time, And his palm branch will not be green. "He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine, And will cast off his flower like the olive tree. "For the company of the godless is barren, And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt. "They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity, And their mind prepares deception.

Then Job responded, "How long will you torment me And crush me with words? "These ten times you have insulted me; You are not ashamed to wrong me. "Even if I have truly erred, My error lodges with me. "If indeed you vaunt yourselves against me And prove my disgrace to me, Know then that God has wronged me And has closed His net around me. "Behold, I cry, 'Violence!' but I get no answer; I shout for help, but there is no justice. "He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass, And He has put darkness on my paths. "He has stripped my honor from me And removed the crown from my head. "He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone; And He has uprooted my hope like a tree. "He has also kindled His anger against me And considered me as His enemy. "His troops come together, And build up their way against me And camp around my tent. "He has removed my brothers far from me, And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me. "My relatives have failed, And my intimate friends have forgotten me. "Those who live in my house and my maids consider me a stranger. I am a foreigner in their sight. "I call to my servant, but he does not answer; I have to implore him with my mouth. "My breath is offensive to my wife, And I am loathsome to my own brothers. "Even young children despise me; I rise up and they speak against me. "All my associates abhor me, And those I love have turned against me. "My bone clings to my skin and my flesh, And I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth. "Pity me, pity me, O you my friends, For the hand of God has struck me. "Why do you persecute me as God [does], And are not satisfied with my flesh? "Oh that my words were written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! "That with an iron stylus and lead They were engraved in the rock forever! "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. "Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me! "If you say, 'How shall we persecute him?' And 'What pretext for a case against him can we find?' "Then be afraid of the sword for yourselves, For wrath brings the punishment of the sword, So that you may know there is judgment."