Job15

Eliphaz begins his second discourse by rebuking Job's words as vain and unprofitable, accusing him of casting off the fear of God. He challenges Job's perceived wisdom, asserting the inherent impurity of all humanity before God. Eliphaz then describes the inevitable suffering and destruction that befall the wicked, emphasizing that their defiance of God leads to a desolate end.
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Eliphaz's Second Speech: Job's Vain Talk

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Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
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Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? ​
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Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good?
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Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. ​
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For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty.
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Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee.

The Frailty of Human Wisdom

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Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills? ​
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Hast thou heard the secret of God? and dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself? ​
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What knowest thou, that we know not? what understandest thou, which is not in us?
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With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men, much elder than thy father. ​
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Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?
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Why doth thine heart carry thee away? and what do thy eyes wink at,
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That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?
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What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? ​
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Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight. ​
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How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? ​

The Inevitable Fate of the Wicked

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I will shew thee, hear me; and that which I have seen I will declare;
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Which wise men have told from their fathers, and have not hid it: ​
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Unto whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger passed among them.
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The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. ​
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A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
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He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword.
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He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
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Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
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For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty. ​
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He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers: ​
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Because he covereth his face with his fatness, and maketh collops of fat on his flanks. ​
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And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heaps.
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He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.
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He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.
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Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity: for vanity shall be his recompence. ​
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It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not be green.
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He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive.
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For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery. ​
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They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity, and their belly prepareth deceit.

Study Notes for Job 15

Verse 2

Eliphaz dismisses Job’s arguments as 'vain knowledge' and 'east wind,' a metaphor for hot, destructive, and ultimately worthless speech (cf. Hosea 12:1).

Verse 4

Eliphaz accuses Job of abandoning 'fear' (piety and reverence for God) and undermining true worship, suggesting that Job’s complaints are evidence of moral decay.

Verse 7

This rhetorical question challenges Job’s perceived antiquity and authority, mocking him for speaking as if he possessed primordial wisdom or predated creation.

Verse 8

The 'secret of God' (sod) refers to the divine council or hidden decrees. Eliphaz mocks Job’s claim to insight, suggesting Job acts like a privy counselor to the Almighty.

Verse 10

Eliphaz appeals to the authority of age and tradition ('grayheaded and very aged men') to validate his own position against Job, claiming his wisdom is superior due to its source.

Verse 14

This verse presents a classic statement on universal sinfulness, asserting that no human, being 'born of a woman,' can attain absolute cleanness or righteousness before God.

Verse 15

Eliphaz argues that divine purity is so absolute that even heavenly beings ('saints' or angels) are considered imperfect in God’s sight, emphasizing the vast gulf between creature and Creator.

Verse 16

If celestial beings are impure, how much more so is humanity, which is described vividly as 'drinking iniquity like water,' suggesting a natural, habitual indulgence in sin.

Verse 18

Eliphaz grounds his ensuing discourse in the established wisdom tradition passed down through generations, claiming universal and undeniable authority for his doctrine of retribution.

Verse 20

This verse begins the detailed description of the wicked man’s constant torment. Eliphaz asserts that the unrighteous live in perpetual pain and fear of impending doom.

Verse 25

The ultimate cause of the wicked man’s suffering is his overt rebellion against God, characterized by intentional defiance and self-assertion against the Almighty.

Verse 26

This vivid imagery—rushing violently against God, using the bosses (knobs) of a shield—presents the wicked man as a foolhardy warrior attacking the divine presence.

Verse 27

Covering the face with fatness signifies arrogance, prosperity, and self-indulgence, which in wisdom literature often precedes a swift and devastating fall from power.

Verse 31

Eliphaz warns against trusting in 'vanity' (false hopes or empty wealth), emphasizing that the wicked man’s reward will ultimately be emptiness and delusion.

Verse 34

The 'hypocrites' (Heb. *chanef*) here refers to the godless or profane. Eliphaz concludes his argument by stating that the community of the irreligious will be consumed by divine judgment.

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