1Then answeredH6030 EliphazH464 the TemaniteH8489, and saidH559, 2Should a wise manH2450 utterH6030 vainH7307 knowledgeH1847, and fillH4390 his bellyH990 with the east windH6921? 3Should he reasonH3198 with unprofitableH5532 talkH1697? or with speechesH4405 wherewith he can do no goodH3276 ? 4Yea, thou castest offH6565 fearH3374, and restrainestH1639 prayerH7881 beforeH6440 GodH410. 5For thy mouthH6310 utterethH502 thine iniquityH5771, and thou choosestH977 the tongueH3956 of the craftyH6175. 6Thine own mouthH6310 condemnethH7561 thee, and not I: yea, thine own lipsH8193 testifyH6030 against thee. 7Art thou the firstH7223 H7223 manH120 that was bornH3205 ? or wast thou madeH2342 beforeH6440 the hillsH1389? 8Hast thou heardH8085 the secretH5475 of GodH433? and dost thou restrainH1639 wisdomH2451 to thyself? 9What knowestH3045 thou, that we knowH3045 not? what understandestH995 thou, which is not in us? 10With us are both the grayheadedH7867 and very agedH3453 men, muchH3524 elderH3117 than thy fatherH1. 11Are the consolationsH8575 of GodH410 smallH4592 with thee? is there any secretH328 thingH1697 with thee? 12Why doth thine heartH3820 carry thee awayH3947 ? and what do thy eyesH5869 wink atH7335, 13That thou turnestH7725 thy spiritH7307 against GodH410, and lettest such wordsH4405 go outH3318 of thy mouthH6310? 14What is manH582, that he should be cleanH2135 ? and he which is bornH3205 of a womanH802, that he should be righteousH6663 ? 15Behold, he putteth no trustH539 in his saintsH6918; yea, the heavensH8064 are not cleanH2141 in his sightH5869. 16How much more abominableH8581 and filthyH444 is manH376, which drinkethH8354 iniquityH5766 H5766 like waterH4325? 17I will shewH2331 thee, hearH8085 me; and that which I have seenH2372 I will declareH5608 ; 18Which wiseH2450 men have toldH5046 from their fathersH1, and have not hidH3582 it: 19Unto whom alone the earthH776 was givenH5414, and no strangerH2114 passedH5674 amongH8432 them. 20The wickedH7563 man travailethH2342 with pain all his daysH3117, and the numberH4557 of yearsH8141 is hiddenH6845 to the oppressorH6184. 21A dreadfulH6343 soundH6963 is in his earsH241: in prosperityH7965 the destroyerH7703 shall comeH935 upon him. 22He believethH539 not that he shall returnH7725 out of darknessH2822, and he is waitedH6822 for of the swordH2719. 23He wandereth abroadH5074 for breadH3899, saying, Where is it? he knowethH3045 that the dayH3117 of darknessH2822 is readyH3559 at his handH3027. 24TroubleH6862 and anguishH4691 shall make him afraidH1204 ; they shall prevailH8630 against him, as a kingH4428 readyH6264 to the battleH3593. 25For he stretcheth outH5186 his handH3027 against GodH410, and strengthenethH1396 himself against the AlmightyH7706. 26He runnethH7323 upon him, even on his neckH6677, upon the thickH5672 bossesH1354 of his bucklersH4043: 27Because he coverethH3680 his faceH6440 with his fatnessH2459, and makethH6213 collops of fatH6371 on his flanksH3689. 28And he dwellethH7931 in desolateH3582 citiesH5892, and in housesH1004 which no man inhabitethH3427, which are readyH6257 to become heapsH1530. 29He shall not be richH6238, neither shall his substanceH2428 continueH6965, neither shall he prolongH5186 the perfectionH4512 thereof upon the earthH776. 30He shall not departH5493 out of darknessH2822; the flameH7957 shall dry upH3001 his branchesH3127, and by the breathH7307 of his mouthH6310 shall he go awayH5493 . 31Let not him that is deceivedH8582 trustH539 in vanityH7723: for vanityH7723 shall be his recompenceH8545. 32It shall be accomplishedH4390 beforeH3808 his timeH3117, and his branchH3712 shall not be greenH7488. 33He shall shake offH2554 his unripe grapeH1154 as the vineH1612, and shall cast offH7993 his flowerH5328 as the oliveH2132. 34For the congregationH5712 of hypocritesH2611 shall be desolateH1565, and fireH784 shall consumeH398 the tabernaclesH168 of briberyH7810. 35They conceiveH2029 mischiefH5999, and bring forthH3205 vanityH205, and their bellyH990 preparethH3559 deceitH4820.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 SECOND SPEECH OF ELIPHAZ. (Job 15:1-35)
a wise man--which Job claims to be.
vain knowledge--Hebrew, "windy knowledge"; literally, "of wind" (
Job 8:2). In
Eccl 1:14, Hebrew, "to catch wind," expresses to strive for what is vain.
east wind--stronger than the previous "wind," for in that region the east wind is the most destructive of winds (
Isa 27:8). Thus here,--empty violence.
belly--the inward parts, the breast (
Pro 18:8).
4 fear--reverence for God (
Job 4:6;
Ps 2:11).
prayer--meditation, in
Ps 104:34; so devotion. If thy views were right, reasons Eliphaz, that God disregards the afflictions of the righteous and makes the wicked to prosper, all devotion would be at an end.
5 The sophistry of thine own speeches proves thy guilt.
6 No pious man would utter such sentiments.
7 That is, Art thou wisdom personified? Wisdom existed before the hills; that is, the eternal Son of God (
Pro 8:25;
Ps 90:2). Wast thou in existence before Adam? The farther back one existed, the nearer he was to the Eternal Wisdom.
8 secret--rather, "Wast thou a listener in the secret council of God?" The Hebrew means properly the cushions of a divan on which counsellors in the East usually sit. God's servants are admitted to God's secrets (
Ps 25:14;
Gen 18:17;
John 15:15).
restrain--Rather, didst thou take away, or borrow, thence (namely, from the divine secret council) thy wisdom? Eliphaz in this (
Job 15:8-
Job 15:9) retorts Job's words upon himself (
Job 12:2-
Job 12:3;
Job 13:2).
9 in us--or, "with us," Hebraism for "we are aware of."
10 On our side, thinking with us are the aged. Job had admitted that wisdom is with them (
Job 12:12). Eliphaz seems to have been himself older than Job; perhaps the other two were also (
Job 32:6). Job, in
Job 30:1, does not refer to his three friends; it therefore forms no objection. The Arabs are proud of fulness of years.
11 consolations--namely, the revelation which Eliphaz had stated as a consolatory reproof to Job, and which he repeats in
Job 15:14.
secret--Hast thou some secret wisdom and source of consolation, which makes thee disregard those suggested by me? (
Job 15:8). Rather, from a different Hebrew root, Is the word of kindness or gentleness addressed by me treated by thee as valueless? [UMBREIT].
12 wink--that is, why do thy eyes evince pride? (
Pro 6:13;
Ps 35:19).
13 That is, frettest against God and lettest fall rash words.
14 Eliphaz repeats the revelation (
Job 4:17) in substance, but using Job's own words (see on
Job 14:1, on "born of a woman") to strike him with his own weapons.
15 Repeated from
Job 4:18; "servants" there are "saints" here; namely, holy angels.
heavens--literally, or else answering to "angels" (see on
Job 4:18, and
Job 25:5).
16 filthy--in Arabic "sour" (
Ps 14:3;
Ps 53:3), corrupted from his original purity.
drinketh-- (
Pro 19:28).
17 In direct contradiction of Job's position (
Job 12:6, &c.), that the lot of the wicked was the most prosperous here, Eliphaz appeals (1) to his own experience, (2) to the wisdom of the ancients.
18 Rather, "and which as handed down from their fathers, they have not concealed."
19 Eliphaz speaks like a genuine Arab when he boasts that his ancestors had ever possessed the land unmixed with foreigners [UMBREIT]. His words are intended to oppose Job's (
Job 9:24); "the earth" in their case was not "given into the hand of the wicked." He refers to the division of the earth by divine appointment (
Gen 10:5;
Gen 25:32). Also he may insinuate that Job's sentiments had been corrupted from original purity by his vicinity to the Sabeans and Chaldeans [ROSENMULLER].
20 travaileth--rather, "trembleth of himself," though there is no real danger [UMBREIT].
and the number of his years, &c.--This gives the reason why the wicked man trembles continually; namely, because he knows not the moment when his life must end.
21 An evil conscience conceives alarm at every sudden sound, though it be in a time of peace ("prosperity"), when there is no real danger (
Lev 26:36;
Pro 28:1;
2Kgs 7:6).
22 darkness--namely, danger or calamity. Glancing at Job, who despaired of restoration: in contrast to good men when in darkness (
Mic 7:8-
Mic 7:9).
waited for of--that is, He is destined for the sword [GESENIUS]. Rather (in the night of danger), "he looks anxiously towards the sword," as if every sword was drawn against him [UMBREIT].
23 Wandereth in anxious search for bread. Famine in Old Testament depicts sore need (
Isa 5:13). Contrast the pious man's lot (
Job 5:20-
Job 5:22).
knoweth--has the firm conviction. Contrast the same word applied to the pious (
Job 5:24-
Job 5:25).
ready at his hand--an Arabic phrase to denote a thing's complete readiness and full presence, as if in the hand.
24 prevail--break upon him suddenly and terribly, as a king, &c. (
Pro 6:11).
25 stretcheth . . . hand--wielding the spear, as a bold rebel against God (
Job 9:4;
Isa 27:4).
26 on his neck--rather, "with outstretched neck," namely, that of the rebel [UMBREIT] (
Ps 75:5).
upon . . . bucklers--rather, "with--his (the rebel's, not God's) bucklers." The rebel and his fellows are depicted as joining shields together, to form a compact covering over their heads against the weapons hurled on them from a fortress [UMBREIT and GESENIUS].
27 The well-nourished body of the rebel is the sign of his prosperity.
collops--masses of fat. He pampers and fattens himself with sensual indulgences; hence his rebellion against God (
Deut 32:15;
1Sam 2:29).
28 The class of wicked here described is that of robbers who plunder "cities," and seize on the houses of the banished citizens (
Isa 13:20). Eliphaz chooses this class because Job had chosen the same (
Job 12:6).
heaps--of ruins.
29 Rather, he shall not increase his riches; he has reached his highest point; his prosperity shall not continue.
perfection--rather, "His acquired wealth--what he possesses--shall not be extended," &c.
30 depart--that is, escape (
Job 15:22-
Job 15:23).
branches--namely, his offspring (
Job 1:18-
Job 1:19;
Ps 37:35).
dry up--The "flame" is the sultry wind in the East by which plants most full of sap are suddenly shrivelled.
his mouth--that is, God's wrath (
Isa 11:4).
31 Rather, "let him not trust in vanity or he will be deceived," &c.
vanity--that which is unsubstantial. Sin is its own punishment (
Pro 1:31;
Jer 2:19).
32 Literally, "it (the tree to which he is compared,
Job 15:30, or else his life) shall not be filled up in its time"; that is, "he shall be ended before his time."
shall not be green--image from a withered tree; the childless extinction of the wicked.
33 Images of incompleteness. The loss of the unripe grapes is poetically made the vine tree's own act, in order to express more pointedly that the sinner's ruin is the fruit of his own conduct (
Isa 3:11;
Jer 6:19).
34 Rather, The binding together of the hypocrites (wicked) shall be fruitless [UMBREIT].
tabernacles of bribery--namely, dwellings of unjust judges, often reprobated in the Old Testament (
Isa 1:23). The "fire of God" that consumed Job's possessions (
Job 1:16) Eliphaz insinuates may have been on account of Job's bribery as an Arab sheik or emir.
35 Bitter irony, illustrating the "unfruitfulness" (
Job 15:34) of the wicked. Their conceptions and birthgivings consist solely in mischief, &c. (
Isa 33:11).
prepareth--hatcheth.