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15:1  Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded:
15:2  “Would a wise man respond with empty arguments and make himself a windbag?
15:3  Would he fill his defense with pointless talk and speeches that serve no purpose?
15:4  “You in fact discredit religion and do away with devotion to God,
15:5  because your iniquity dictates what you say and you choose to exhibit a deceitful tongue.
15:6  Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips testify against you.
15:7  “Are you the firstborn of the human race? Did you come into existence before the hills?
15:8  Are you a member of God’s inner council? Do you have a monopoly on wisdom?
15:9  What do you know that we do not know? What insight do you have that we do not share?
15:10  We ourselves have age and gray hair on our side, people who far surpass your father in years.
15:11  “Are the consolations that God offers insufficient for you, words whispered gently in your ear?
15:12  Why do you allow your passions to erode your judgment, and why do your eyes flash with anger
15:13  so that you vent your rage against God and permit such words to escape your mouth?
15:14  “What is man, that he should be without fault, or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
15:15  If God places no trust in his holy ones and the heavens are not pure in his sight,
15:16  how much less is man, who is vile and corrupt and drinks up iniquity like water?
15:17  “I will tell you; listen to me. I will recount what I have seen,
15:18  what has been related by wise men who have faithfully transmitted the teachings of their ancestors,
15:19  to whom alone the land was given, and no foreigner passed among them.
15:20  “The wicked man suffers torment all his days, and limited are the years allotted to the tyrant.
15:21  Terrifying sounds echo in his ears, and even when times are peaceful, marauders swoop down on him.
15:22  He despairs of escaping the darkness and realizes that he is destined for the sword.
15:23  “In his wandering, he serves as food for vultures and knows the day of darkness is at hand.
15:24  Distress and anguish overwhelm him; they overpower him like a king prepared to attack.
15:25  “Because he has lifted his hands against God and acted in brazen defiance of the Almighty,
15:26  rushing stubbornly against him with his massive embossed shield,
15:27  with his jowls heavy and gross and his waist bulging with fat,
15:28  he will dwell in cities that lie in ruins, in houses that have been abandoned and are crumbling into a heap of rubble.
15:29  “He will no longer be wealthy and his riches will not endure; no longer will his power prevail.
15:30  He will not escape the darkness; intense heat will shrivel his roots, and the wind will cause his blossoms to disappear.
15:31  Let him not deceive himself by trusting in what is worthless, for he will be left bereft.
15:32  “His palm trees will wither before their time, and his branches will never again be green.
15:33  He will be like a vine that sheds unripe grapes, like an olive tree casting off its blossoms.
15:34  For the company of the godless will be completely barren, and fire will consume the tents of those who are venal.
15:35  They conceive malice and breed evil, and they give birth to deceit.”