English Standard Version ESV
New Revised Standard NRS
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
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"Should the wise answer with windy knowledge, and fill themselves with the east wind?
3 Should he argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which he can do no good?
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Should they argue in unprofitable talk, or in words with which they can do no good?
4 But you are doing away with the fear of God and hindering meditation before God.
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But you are doing away with the fear of God, and hindering meditation before God.
5 For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
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For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the tongue of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you.
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Your own mouth condemns you, and not I; your own lips testify against you.
7 “Are you the first man who was born? Or were you brought forth before the hills?
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"Are you the firstborn of the human race? Were you brought forth before the hills?
8 Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
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Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself?
9 What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
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What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us, older than your father.
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The gray-haired and the aged are on our side, those older than your father.
11 Are the comforts of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?
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Are the consolations of God too small for you, or the word that deals gently with you?
12 Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash,
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Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13 that you turn your spirit against God and bring such words out of your mouth?
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so that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?
14 What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?
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What are mortals, that they can be clean? Or those born of woman, that they can be righteous?
15 Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and the heavens are not pure in his sight;
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God puts no trust even in his holy ones, and the heavens are not clean in his sight;
16 how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks injustice like water!
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how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, one who drinks iniquity like water!
17 “I will show you; hear me, and what I have seen I will declare
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"I will show you; listen to me; what I have seen I will declare—
18 (what wise men have told, without hiding it from their fathers,
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what sages have told, and their ancestors have not hidden,
19 to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them).
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to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked man writhes in pain all his days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.
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The wicked writhe in pain all their days, through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.
21 Dreadful sounds are in his ears; in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.
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Terrifying sounds are in their ears; in prosperity the destroyer will come upon them.
22 He does not believe that he will return out of darkness, and he is marked for the sword.
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They despair of returning from darkness, and they are destined for the sword.
23 He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it? ’He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;
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They wander abroad for bread, saying, "Where is it?' They know that a day of darkness is ready at hand;
24 distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.
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distress and anguish terrify them; they prevail against them, like a king prepared for battle.
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God and defies the Almighty,
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Because they stretched out their hands against God, and bid defiance to the Almighty,
26 running stubbornly against him with a thickly bossed shield;
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running stubbornly against him with a thick-bossed shield;
27 because he has covered his face with his fat and gathered fat upon his waist
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because they have covered their faces with their fat, and gathered fat upon their loins,
28 and has lived in desolate cities, in houses that none should inhabit, which were ready to become heaps of ruins;
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they will live in desolate cities, in houses that no one should inhabit, houses destined to become heaps of ruins;
29 he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the earth;
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they will not be rich, and their wealth will not endure, nor will they strike root in the earth;
30 he will not depart from darkness; the flame will dry up his shoots, and by the breath of his mouth he will depart.
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they will not escape from darkness; the flame will dry up their shoots, and their blossom will be swept away by the wind.
31 Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his payment.
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Let them not trust in emptiness, deceiving themselves; for emptiness will be their recompense.
32 It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not be green.
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It will be paid in full before their time, and their branch will not be green.
33 He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine, and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.
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They will shake off their unripe grape, like the vine, and cast off their blossoms, like the olive tree.
34 For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
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For the company of the godless is barren, and fire consumes the tents of bribery.
35 They conceive trouble and give birth to evil, and their womb prepares deceit. ”
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They conceive mischief and bring forth evil and their heart prepares deceit."
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.