Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible RHE
New Living Translation NLT
1 And Eliphaz the Themanite, answered, and said:
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Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Will a wise man answer as if he were speaking in the wind, and fill his stomach with burning heat?
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“A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag.
3 Thou reprovest him by words, who is not equal to thee, and thou speakest that which is not good for thee.
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The wise don’t engage in empty chatter. What good are such words?
4 As much as is in thee, thou hast made void fear, and hast taken away prayers from before God.
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Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him?
5 For thy iniquity hath taught thy mouth, and thou imitatest the tongue of blasphemers.
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Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception.
6 Thy own mouth shall condemn thee, and not I: and thy own lips shall answer thee.
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Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Your own lips testify against you.
7 Art thou the first man that was born, or wast thou made before the hills?
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“Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made?
8 Hast thou heard God’s counsel, and shall his wisdom be inferior to thee?
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Were you listening at God’s secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
9 What knowest thou that we are ignorant of? what dost thou understand that we know not?
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What do you know that we don’t? What do you understand that we do not?
10 There are with us also aged and ancient men, much elder than thy fathers.
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On our side are aged, gray-haired men much older than your father!
11 Is it a great matter that God should comfort thee? but thy wicked words hinder this.
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“Is God’s comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough?
12 Why doth thy heart elevate thee, and why dost thou stare with thy eyes, as if they were thinking great things?
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What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision,
13 Why doth thy spirit swell against God, to utter such words out of thy mouth?
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that you turn against God and say all these evil things?
14 What is man that he should be without spot, and he that is born of a woman that he should appear just?
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Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just?
15 Behold among his saints none is unchangeable, and the heavens are not pure in his sight.
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Look, God does not even trust the angels. Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.
16 How much more is man abominable, and unprofitable, who drinketh iniquity like water?
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How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst for wickedness!
17 I will shew thee, hear me: and I will tell thee what I have seen.
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“If you will listen, I will show you. I will answer you from my own experience.
18 Wise men confess and hide not their fathers.
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And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers—
19 To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger hath passed among them.
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from those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived.
20 The wicked man is proud all his days, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain.
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“The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives. Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.
21 The sound of dread is always in his ears: and when there is peace, he always suspecteth treason.
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The sound of terror rings in their ears, and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.
22 He believeth not that he may return from darkness to light, looking round about for the sword on every side.
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They dare not go out into the darkness for fear they will be murdered.
23 When he moveth himself to seek bread, he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
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They wander around, saying, ‘Where can I find bread?’ They know their day of destruction is near.
24 Tribulation shall terrify him, and distress shall surround him, as a king that is prepared for the battle.
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That dark day terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish, like a king preparing for battle.
25 For he hath stretched out his hand against God, and hath strengthened himself against the Almighty.
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For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty.
26 He hath run against him with his neck raised up, and is armed with a fat neck.
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Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge against him.
27 Fatness hath covered his face, and the fat hangeth down on his sides.
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“These wicked people are heavy and prosperous; their waists bulge with fat.
28 He hath dwelt in desolate cities, and in desert houses that are reduced into heaps.
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But their cities will be ruined. They will live in abandoned houses that are ready to tumble down.
29 He shall not be enriched, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he push his root in the earth.
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Their riches will not last, and their wealth will not endure. Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.
30 He shall not depart out of darkness: the flame shall dry up his branches, and he shall be taken away by the breath of his own mouth.
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“They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them.
31 He shall not believe, being vainly deceived by error, that he may be redeemed with any price.
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Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward.
32 Before his days be full he shall perish: and his hands shall wither away.
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They will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green.
33 He shall be blasted as a vine when its grapes are in the first flower, and as an olive tree that casteth its flower.
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They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early, like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.
34 For the congregation of the hypocrite is barren, and fire shall devour their tabernacles, who love to take bribes.
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For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.
35 He hath conceived sorrow, and hath brought forth iniquity, and his womb prepareth deceits.
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They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb produces deceit.”