Job 15

vayya'an elifaz hattemani vayyomar

Eliphaz the Temanite said in reply:

hekhakham ya'aneh da'at-ruakh vimalle qadim bitno

Does a wise man answer with windy opinions, And fill his belly with the east wind?

hokheakh bedavar lo yiskon umillim lo-yo'il bam

Should he argue with useless talk, With words that are of no worth?

af-attah tafer yirah vetigra sikhah lifne-el

You subvert piety And restrain prayer to God.

ki ye'allef avonekha fikha vetivkhar leshon arumim

Your sinfulness dictates your speech, So you choose crafty language.

yarshi'akha fikha velo-ani usefatekha ya'anu-vakh

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

hariyshon adam tivvaled velifne geva'ot kholaleta

Were you the first human born? Were you created before the hills?

havsod eloah tishma vetigra elekha khokhmah

Have you listened in on the council of God? Have you sole possession of wisdom?

mah-yyadata velo neda tavin velo-immanu hu

What do you know that we do not know, Or understand that we do not?

gam-sav gam-yashish banu kabbir me'avikha yamim

Among us are gray-haired aged men, Older by far than your father.

hame'at mimmekha tankhumot el vedavar la'at immakh

Are God’s consolations not enough for you, And those gentle words to you?

mah-yyiqqakhakha libbekha umah-yyirzemun enekha

How your heart has carried you away, How your eyes have failed you,

ki-tashiv el-el rukhekha vehotseta mippikha millin

That you could vent your anger on God, And let such words out of your mouth!

mah-enosh ki-yizkeh vekhi-yitsdaq yelud isha

What are mortals that they can be cleared of guilt, Those born of woman, that they be in the right?

hen biqdoshav lo ya'amin veshamayim lo-zakku ve'enayw

[God] puts no trust in the holy ones; The heavens are not guiltless in God’s sight;

af ki-nitav vene'elakh ish-shoteh khammayim avlah

What then of those loathsome and foul, The ones who drink wrongdoing like water!

akhavkha shema-li vezeh-khaziti va'asapperah

I will hold forth; listen to me; What I have seen, I will declare—

asher-khakhamim yaggidu velo khikhadu me'avotam

That which the wise have transmitted from their ancestors, And have not withheld,

lahem levaddam nittenah ha'arets velo-avar zar betokham

To whom alone the land was given, No stranger passing among them:

kol-yeme rasha hu mitkholel umispar shanim nitspenu le'arits

The wicked man writhes in torment all his days; Few years are reserved for the ruthless.

qol-pekhadim be'oznayw bashalom shoded yevo'ennu

Frightening sounds fill his ears; When he is at ease a robber falls upon him.

lo-ya'amin shuv minni-khoshekh (vtsfv) [vetsafuy] hu ele-kharev

He is never sure he will come back from the dark; A sword stares him in the face.

noded hu lallekhem ayyeh yada ki-nakhon beyado yom-khoshekh

He wanders about for bread—where is it? He knows that the day of darkness has been readied for him.

yeva'atuhu tsar umetsuqah titqefehu kemelekh atid lakkidor

Troubles terrify him, anxiety overpowers him, Like a king expecting a siege.

ki-natah el-el yado ve'el-shadday yitgabbar

For he has raised his arm against God And played the hero against the Almighty.

yaruts elayw betsavvar ba'avi gabbe maginnayw

He runs at [God] defiantly With his thickly bossed shield.

ki-khissah fanayw bekhelbo vayya'as pimah ale-khasel

His face is covered with fat And his loins with blubber.

vayyishkon arim nikhkhadot battim lo-yeshevu lamo asher hitattedu legallim

He dwells in cities doomed to ruin, In houses that shall not be lived in, That are destined to become heaps of rubble.

lo-yeshar velo-yaqum khelo velo-yitteh la'arets minlam

He will not be rich; His wealth will not endure; His produce shall not bend to the earth.

lo-yasur minni-khoshekh yonaqto teyabbesh shalhavet veyasur beruakh piv

He will never get away from the darkness; Flames will sear his shoots; He will pass away by the breath of God’s mouth.

al-ya'amen bashav nitah ki-shav tihyeh temurato

He will not be trusted; He will be misled by falsehood, And falsehood will be his recompense.

belo-yomo timmale vekhippato lo ra'ananah

He will wither before his time, His boughs never having flourished.

yakhmos kaggefen bisro veyashlekh kazzayit nitsato

He will drop his unripe grapes like a vine; He will shed his blossoms like an olive tree.

ki-adat khanef galmud ve'esh okhlah ohole-shokhad

For the company of the impious is desolate; Fire consumes the tents of the briber;

haroh amal veyalod aven uvitnam takhin mirmah

For they have conceived mischief, given birth to evil, And their womb has produced deceit.