1
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2
“Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, and fill his mind with wind?
3
Should he rebuke with useless talk, and with words that are of no profit?
4
Moreover, you are doing away with reverence and diminishing respect for God.
5
Your own fault teaches your mouth, and you have chosen the tongue of the crafty.
6
Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your own lips testify against you.
7
Were you born as the first man, or brought forth before the hills?
8
Did you listen in the council of God and take wisdom for yourself?
9
What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10
Among us are also gray-haired men and those advanced in years, older than your father.
11
Are the consolations of God too small for you, and the gentle words spoken to you?
12
Why does your heart carry you away, and why do your eyes flash,
13
so that you turn your spirit against God and let such words come from your mouth?
14
What is man, that he should be clean, or one born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15
Behold, he puts no trust even in his holy ones; the heavens are not clean in his sight;
16
how much less one who is vile and corrupt, who drinks wrongdoing like water.
17
I will explain something to you; listen to me, and what I have seen I will tell,
18
what wise men have declared, and what their fathers did not hide,
19
when the land was given to them alone, and no stranger passed among them.
20
The wicked tremble all his days; likewise the violent man, through all the years reserved for him.
21
A dreadful sound is in his ears; in time of peace the destroyer comes upon him.
22
He does not believe that he will return out of darkness; he is appointed for the sword.
23
He wanders about for food, saying, Where is it? He knows that the day of darkness is ready at hand.
24
Distress and anguish terrify him; they overpower him like a king ready to attack.
25
Because he has stretched out his hand against God and has defied the Almighty;
26
he runs at Him with stiff neck, with his thickly bossed shield.
27
His face he has covered with fat, and he has put fat on his loins;
28
he dwells in cities that are laid waste, in houses that no one can inhabit, which are appointed to remain in ruins.
29
He will not become rich, and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions increase in the land.
30
He will not escape from darkness; his shoots will be withered by flame, and he will be swept away by the breath of His mouth.
31
Let him not trust in emptiness; he will be deceived, for emptiness will be his reward.
32
Before his time is fulfilled, his end will come, and his branch will not be green.
33
He is like a vine that sheds its fruit, and like an olive tree that drops its blossom.
34
For the company of the wicked will not prosper, and fire consumes the tents of those who take bribes.
35
They conceive trouble and give birth to evil, and deceit is conceived in their hearts.”
🔥🗣️🪓 Summary of Job 15 – Eliphaz Attacks Again: “Job, You Are a Wicked Man Who Acts Wise”
In Job 15, Eliphaz speaks for the second time, and this time his tone is much sharper and more accusatory. He accuses Job of being a wicked and arrogant man who does not fear God, and he takes Job’s words as proof of spiritual pride. Eliphaz insists that Job’s suffering is the result of sin, and that a righteous person could not be punished so severely.
This chapter shows how insensitive and unmerciful theology can deepen the wounds of one who suffers.
📌 1. Eliphaz Mocks Job’s Wisdom (verses 1–6)
➡️ Eliphaz rebukes Job for speaking without substance:
“Does a wise man answer with empty knowledge?”
➡️ He accuses Job:
“It is your sin that makes your mouth speak like this!”
➡️ Job is said to be nullifying the fear of God with empty arguments.
🎯 According to Eliphaz, one who fears the Lord should be silent and accept punishment.
📌 2. You Are Not the First One to Know Wisdom (verses 7–16)
➡️ Eliphaz says mockingly:
“Were you born before other people?”
➡️ He suggests that many wise men came before Job and also suffered
➡️ Even the holy are not pure before God, much less “a man born of woman”
🎯 Eliphaz uses human lowliness before the Lord as a weapon to silence Job.
📌 3. The Fate of the Wicked Will Be Calamity (verses 17–35)
➡️ Eliphaz gives ‘traditional teaching’:
“The wicked live in constant unease.”
➡️ He describes that the wicked will:
- Always feel afraid
- Lose their strength
- Face the wrath of God
➡️ Their life will dry up like a fruitless tree
➡️ “They conceive evil and give birth to falsehood.”
🎯 Eliphaz considers all suffering to be the result of sin.
📖 Main Teaching
- Judging without understanding can become a form of spiritual cruelty
- Not all suffering is the result of sin — sometimes it is a mystery and a test of faith
- True wisdom requires compassion, not merely spiritual logic
- Spiritual tradition can blind us to the uniqueness of a person’s suffering
✨ Spiritual Meaning (New Testament)
“Who sinned…? Not he or his parents, but that the works of God might be revealed.”
➡️ Jesus’ answer refutes Eliphaz’s theology: suffering is not always because of sin
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”
➡️ Yes, all have sinned — but the Lord gives grace, not condemnation alone
“The Lord causes the sun to rise for the good and the evil.”
➡️ Goodness or suffering does not always reflect a person’s moral standing
“Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.”
➡️ Eliphaz failed in all these things — he was quick to speak, slow to understand.
🕊️ “Does a wise man answer with empty knowledge?” – Job 15:2
🕊️ “Your own guilt teaches your mouth.” – Job 15:6
🕊️ “Were you born before other men?” – Job 15:7
🕊️ “The wicked live in pain all their days.” – Job 15:20
🕊️ “He conceives evil and gives birth to falsehood.” – Job 15:35
