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15:1  Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
15:2  “·A wise person would not [L Should a wise person…?] answer with ·empty [L windy] words or fill his stomach with the hot east wind.
15:3  ·He would not [L Should he…?] ·argue [reprimand; reprove] with useless words or make speeches that have no value.
15:4  But you even ·destroy [invalidate] ·respect for God [L fear] and limit the worship of him.
15:5  Your ·sin [iniquity] teaches your mouth what to say; you ·use words to trick others [L choose the tongue of the crafty].
15:6  It is your own mouth, not mine, that ·shows you are wicked [condemns]; your own lips testify against you.
15:7  “·You are not [L Are you…?] the first man ever born [C perhaps a reference to Adam; Ezek. 28:12–13]; ·you are not [L are you…?] older than the hills [C either a reference to the wisdom of the elders or to wisdom personified as a woman; Prov. 8:22–25].
15:8  ·You did not [L Did you…?] listen in on God’s secret council [C like a prophet]. But you limit wisdom to yourself.
15:9  ·You don’t [L Do you…?] know any more than we know. ·You don’t [L Do you…?] understand any more than we understand.
15:10  Old people with gray hair are on our side; they are even older than your father.
15:11  Is the ·comfort [consolation] God gives you not enough for you, even when words are spoken gently to you?
15:12  Has your heart ·carried you away from God [L taken you away; C perhaps suggesting that Job has lost control of his emotions]? Why do your eyes ·flash with anger [or wink]?
15:13  Why do you ·speak out your anger [L turn your spirit] against God? Why do these words pour out of your mouth?
15:14  “How can anyone be pure? How can someone born to a woman be ·good [righteous]?
15:15  God places no trust in his holy ones [C angels], and even the heavens are not pure in his eyes.
15:16  How much less pure is one who is ·terrible [abominable] and ·rotten [corrupt] and drinks up ·evil [injustice] as if it were water [Prov. 4:17–19]!
15:17  “Listen to me, and I will tell you about it; I will ·tell [recount to] you what I have seen.
15:18  These are things wise men have told; their ancestors told them, and they have hidden nothing.
15:19  (The land was given to their fathers only, and no ·foreigner [stranger] lived among them [C suggesting wisdom untainted by foreign influence].)
15:20  The wicked suffer pain all their lives; the cruel suffer during all the years saved up for them.
15:21  Terrible sounds ·fill [reach; L are in] their ears, and when things ·seem to be going well [are at peace], ·robbers [or destroyers] attack them.
15:22  Evil people ·give up trying [L cannot hope] to ·escape [L return] from the darkness; it has been decided that they will die by the sword.
15:23  They wander around ·and will become food for vultures [or for food, saying “Where is it?”]. They know [L a day of] darkness ·will soon come [L is prepared for them].
15:24  ·Worry [Distress] and ·suffering [hardship] terrify them; they overwhelm them, like a king ready to attack,
15:25  because they ·shake their fists at [L stretched their hands against; Ex. 6:6; Deut. 4:34] God and ·try to get their own way against [defy] ·the Almighty [Shaddai].
15:26  They ·stubbornly [defiantly] charge at God with ·thick, strong [L thick-bossed; C the boss is the convex centerpiece] shields.
15:27  “Although the faces of the wicked are thick with fat [C a sign of prosperity, but here the result of ill-gotten gain], and their ·bellies [or loins] are fat with ·flesh [blubber],
15:28  they will live in towns that are ruined, in houses where no one lives, ·which are crumbling into ruins [L destined to become a ruin heap].
15:29  The wicked will no longer ·get [or be] rich, and the riches they have will not last [Ps. 73; Prov. 11:18; 13:11; 21:6; 22:16] the things they own will no longer spread over the land.
15:30  They will not ·escape [L turn aside from] the darkness. A flame will dry up their ·branches [shoots]; God’s breath will carry the wicked away.
15:31  The wicked should not fool themselves by trusting what is useless. If they do, they will get nothing in return [C “useless” and “nothing” are the same Hebrew word].
15:32  Their branches will dry up ·before they finish growing [L out of season] and will never turn green.
15:33  They will be like a vine whose grapes ·are pulled [shake] off before they are ripe, like an olive tree that ·loses [throws off] its blossoms.
15:34  ·People without God [L The assembly of the godless] ·can produce nothing [L are barren]. Fire will ·destroy [consume] the tents of those who take ·money to do evil [L bribes],
15:35  who ·plan [L conceive] trouble and give birth to evil, whose ·hearts [L womb] plan ways to ·trick [L defraud; Ps. 7:14; Is. 59:4] others.”