Job 15

Eliphaz's Second Speech

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,

²“Should a wise man answer with vain knowledge, and fill himself with the east wind?

³Should he reason with unprofitable talk, or with speeches with which he can do no good?

⁴Yes, you do away with fear, and hinder devotion before God.

⁵For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose the language of the crafty.

⁶Your own mouth condemns you, and not I. Yes, your own lips testify against you.

⁷“Are you the first man who was born? Or were you brought out before the hills?

⁸Have you heard the secret counsel of God? Do you limit wisdom to yourself?

⁹What do you know that we don’t know? What do you understand which is not in us?

¹⁰With us are both the gray-headed and the very aged men, much older than your father.

¹¹Are the consolations of God too small for you, even the word that is gentle toward you?

¹²Why does your heart carry you away? Why do your eyes flash,

¹³that you turn your spirit against God, and let such words go out of your mouth?

¹⁴What is man, that he should be clean? What is he who is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?

¹⁵Behold, he puts no trust in his holy ones. Yes, the heavens are not clean in his sight;

¹⁶how much less one who is abominable and corrupt, a man who drinks iniquity like water!

¹⁷“I will show you, listen to me; that which I have seen I will declare

¹⁸(which wise men have told by their fathers, and have not hidden it;

¹⁹to whom alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them):

²⁰the wicked man writhes in pain all his days, even the number of years that are laid up for the oppressor.

²¹A sound of terrors is in his ears. In prosperity the destroyer will come on him.

²²He doesn’t believe that he will return out of darkness. He is waited for by the sword.

²³He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?’ He knows that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

²⁴Distress and anguish make him afraid. They prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.

²⁵Because he has stretched out his hand against God, and behaves himself proudly against the Almighty,

²⁶he runs at him with a stiff neck, with the thick shields of his bucklers,

²⁷because he has covered his face with his fatness, and gathered fat on his thighs.

²⁸He has lived in desolate cities, in houses which no one inhabited, which were ready to become heaps.

²⁹He will not be rich, neither will his substance continue, neither will their possessions be extended on the earth.

³⁰He will not depart out of darkness. The flame will dry up his branches. He will go away by the breath of God’s mouth.

³¹Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself, for emptiness will be his reward.

³²It will be accomplished before his time. His branch will not be green.

³³He will shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and will cast off his flower as the olive tree.

³⁴For the company of the godless will be barren, and fire will consume the tents of bribery.

³⁵They conceive mischief and produce iniquity. Their heart prepares deceit.”

Previous Job 14

Next Job 16

Eliphaz delivers his second speech, harshly criticizing Job's responses as empty words that undermine reverence for God. He argues that Job's suffering proves his sinfulness, since no human can be truly righteous before God. Eliphaz then presents a detailed description of the inevitable fate of the wicked, drawing on traditional wisdom to argue that the ungodly face constant terror, poverty, and destruction as divine judgment for their rebellion against God.

Context

This second speech by Eliphaz becomes more accusatory than his first address in chapters 4-5, directly charging Job with sin and godlessness.

Key Themes

Outline

1-6
Accusation of Empty Words Eliphaz condemns Job's speeches as vain knowledge that reveals his iniquity and undermines devotion to God.
7-13
Challenge to Job's Wisdom Eliphaz questions Job's claim to special knowledge and accuses him of turning against God in anger.
14-16
Universal Human Sinfulness Eliphaz argues that no human can be clean or righteous before God, emphasizing humanity's corrupt nature.
17-19
Appeal to Traditional Wisdom Eliphaz introduces his teaching based on ancestral wisdom passed down through generations.
20-35
The Fate of the Wicked Eliphaz describes the constant terror, poverty, and ultimate destruction that befalls those who rebel against God.

Eliphaz's Second Speech

15:1–15:35

wisdom speech wrathful

Eliphaz delivers a harsh rebuke to Job, accusing him of undermining reverence for God and speaking foolishly. He emphasizes human sinfulness and corruption, arguing that no one can be righteous before God, and describes the inevitable suffering and terror that awaits the wicked.