how much less one who is revolting and corrupt,
who drinks injustice like water?

Listen to me and I will inform you.
I will describe what I have seen,

Dreadful sounds fill his ears;
when he is at peace, a robber attacks him.

He wanders about for food, saying, “Where is it?”
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.

what was declared by wise men
and was not suppressed by their ancestors,

Trouble and distress terrify him,
overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.

the land was given to them alone
when no foreigner passed among them.

he will dwell in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble.

He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes
and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

He rushes headlong at Him
with his thick, studded shields.

He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.
His possessions will not increase in the land.

Though his face is covered with fat
and his waistline bulges with it,

They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;
their womb prepares deception.

A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;
only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

He doesn’t believe he will return from darkness;
he is destined for the sword.

Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

What is man, that he should be pure,
or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

If God puts no trust in His holy ones
and the heavens are not pure in His sight,

Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray,
for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.

He will not escape from the darkness;
flames will wither his shoots,
and by the breath of God’s mouth, he will depart.

But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before Him.

Do you listen in on the council of God,
or have a monopoly on wisdom?

For the company of the godless will have no children,
and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes.

Does a wise man answer with empty counsel
or fill himself with the hot east wind?

It will be accomplished before his time,
and his branch will not flourish.

Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us,
men older than your father.

For he has stretched out his hand against God
and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty.

Your iniquity teaches you what to say,
and you choose the language of the crafty.

Your own mouth condemns you, not I;
your own lips testify against you.

Are God’s consolations not enough for you,
even the words that deal gently with you?

as you turn your anger against God
and allow such words to leave your mouth?

Were you the first person ever born,
or were you brought forth before the hills?

What do you know that we don’t?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?

Why has your heart misled you,
and why do your eyes flash

Should he argue with useless talk
or with words that serve no good purpose?