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15
1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said: 2 Should a wise man answer with arguments of wind, Or fill his bosom with the east wind? 3 Should he argue with speech that helpeth him not, And with words which do not profit him? 4 Behold, thou makest the fear of God a vain thing, And discouragest prayer before him. 5 Yea, thy own mouth proclaimeth thy iniquity, Though thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. 6 Thy own mouth condemneth thee, and not I; Thy own lips testify against thee. 7 Art thou the first man that was born? Wast thou formed before the hills? 8 Hast thou listened in the council of God, And drawn all wisdom to thyself? 9 What dost thou know, that we know not also? What dost thou understand, that is a secret to us? 10 With us are the aged and hoary-headed; Much older than thy father. 11 Dost thou despise the consolations of God, And words so full of kindness to thee? 12 Why hath thy passion taken possession of thee? And why this winking of thine eyes? 13 For against God hast thou turned thy spirit, And uttered such words from thy mouth. 14 What is man, that he should be pure, And he that is born of woman, that he should be innocent? 15 Behold, He putteth no trust in his ministering spirits, And the heavens are not pure in his sight; 16 Much less, abominable and polluted man, Who drinketh iniquity as water. 17 Hear me, and I will show thee, And that which I have seen will I declare; 18 Which the wise men have told, And not kept concealed, as received from their fathers; 19 To whom alone the land was given, And among whom not a stranger wandered. 20 “All his days the wicked man is in pain; Yea, all the years, that are laid up for the oppressor. 21 A fearful sound is in his ears; In peace the destroyer cometh upon him. 22 He hath no hope that he shall escape from darkness; He is set apart for the sword. 23 He wandereth about, seeking bread; He knoweth that a day of darkness is at hand. 24 Distress and anguish fill him with dread; They prevail against him like a king ready for the battle. 25 Because he stretched forth his hand against God, And bade defiance to the Almighty, 26 And ran against him with outstretched neck, With the thick bosses of his bucklers; 27 Because he covered his face with fatness, And gathered fat upon his loins, 28 And dwelt in desolated cities, In houses which no man inhabiteth, That are ready to become heaps. 29 He shall not be rich; his substance shall not endure, And his possessions shall not be extended upon the earth. 30 He shall not escape from darkness, And the flame shall dry up his branches; Yea, by the breath of His mouth shall he be taken away. 31 “Let not man trust in vanity! he will be deceived; For vanity shall be his recompense. 32 He shall come to his end before his time, And his branch shall not be green. 33 He shall shake off his unripe fruit like the vine, And shed his blossoms like the olive-tree. 34 The house of the unrighteous shall be famished, And fire shall consume the tents of bribery. 35 They conceive mischief, and bring forth misery, And their breast deviseth deceit.”

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