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;

“Sounds of terror are in his ears;
While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

“He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.

What wise men have told,
And have not concealed from their fathers,

“Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,

To whom alone the land was given,
And no alien passed among them.

“He has lived in desolate cities,
In houses no one would inhabit,
Which are destined to become ruins.

“He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,
And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.

“He rushes headlong at Him
With his massive shield.

“He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;
And his grain will not bend down to the ground.

“For he has covered his face with his fat
And made his thighs heavy with flesh.

“They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity,
And their mind prepares deception.”

“The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless.

“He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
And he is destined for the sword.

Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

“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;

“Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;
For emptiness will be his reward.

“He will not escape from darkness;
The flame will wither his shoots,
And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

“Indeed, you do away with reverence
And hinder meditation before God.

“Do you hear the secret counsel of God,
And limit wisdom to yourself?

“For the company of the godless is barren,
And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt.

“Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge
And fill himself with the east wind?

“It will be accomplished before his time,
And his palm branch will not be green.

“Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,
Older than your father.

Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty.

“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.

“Are the consolations of God too small for you,
Even the word spoken gently with you?

That you should turn your spirit against God
And allow such words to go out of your mouth?

“Were you the first man to be born,
Or were you brought forth before the hills?

“What do you know that we do not know?
What do you understand that we do not?

“Why does your heart carry you away?
And why do your eyes flash,

“Should he argue with useless talk,
Or with words which are not profitable?