15Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied.H6030H464H8489H5592"A wise man wouldn't answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag.H2450H6030H7307H1847H4390H990H69213The wise don't engage in empty chatter. What good are such words?H3198H5532H1697H4405H32764Have you no fear of God, no reverence for him?H6565H3374H1639H7881H6440H4105Your sins are telling your mouth what to say. Your words are based on clever deception.H6310H502H5771H977H3956H61756Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Your own lips testify against you.H6310H7561H8193H60307"Were you the first person ever born? Were you born before the hills were made?H7223H7223H120H3205H2342H6440H13898Were you listening at God's secret council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?H8085H5475H433H1639H24519What do you know that we don't? What do you understand that we do not?H3045H3045H99510On our side are aged, gray-haired men much older than your father!H7867H3453H3524H3117H111"Is God's comfort too little for you? Is his gentle word not enough?H8575H410H4592H328H169712What has taken away your reason? What has weakened your vision,H3820H3947H5869H733513that you turn against God and say all these evil things?H7725H7307H410H4405H3318H631014Can any mortal be pure? Can anyone born of a woman be just?H582H2135H3205H802H666315Look, God does not even trust the angels. Even the heavens are not absolutely pure in his sight.H539H6918H8064H2141H586916How much less pure is a corrupt and sinful person with a thirst for wickedness!H8581H444H376H8354H5766H5766H432517"If you will listen, I will show you. I will answer you from my own experience.H2331H8085H2372H560818And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men who have heard the same thing from their fathers—H2450H5046H1H358219from those to whom the land was given long before any foreigners arrived.H776H5414H2114H5674H843220"The wicked writhe in pain throughout their lives. Years of trouble are stored up for the ruthless.H7563H2342H3117H4557H8141H6845H618421The sound of terror rings in their ears, and even on good days they fear the attack of the destroyer.H6343H6963H241H7965H7703H93522They dare not go out into the darkness for fear they will be murdered.H539H7725H2822H6822H271923They wander around, saying, 'Where can I find bread?' They know their day of destruction is near.H5074H3899H3045H3117H2822H3559H302724That dark day terrifies them. They live in distress and anguish, like a king preparing for battle.H6862H4691H1204H8630H4428H6264H359325For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty.H5186H3027H410H1396H770626Holding their strong shields, they defiantly charge against him.H7323H6677H5672H1354H404327"These wicked people are heavy and prosperous; their waists bulge with fat.H3680H6440H2459H6213H6371H368928But their cities will be ruined. They will live in abandoned houses that are ready to tumble down.H7931H3582H5892H1004H3427H6257H153029Their riches will not last, and their wealth will not endure. Their possessions will no longer spread across the horizon.H6238H2428H6965H5186H4512H77630"They will not escape the darkness. The burning sun will wither their shoots, and the breath of God will destroy them.H5493H2822H7957H3001H3127H7307H6310H549331Let them no longer fool themselves by trusting in empty riches, for emptiness will be their only reward.H8582H539H7723H7723H854532Like trees, they will be cut down in the prime of life; their branches will never again be green.H4390H3808H3117H3712H748833They will be like a vine whose grapes are harvested too early, like an olive tree that loses its blossoms before the fruit can form.H2554H1154H1612H7993H5328H213234For the godless are barren. Their homes, enriched through bribery, will burn.H5712H2611H1565H784H398H168H781035They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb produces deceit."H2029H5999H3205H205H990H3559H4820
Dublin, OH
,H3820
