Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:

Then answered Eliphaz the Themanite:

And Eliphaz the Themanite, answered, and said:

Numquid sapiens respondebit quasi in ventum loquens, et implebit ardore stomachum suum?

This is not a wise man’s way, to answer with windy sophistries, as if thou hadst the sirocco in thy blood,

Will a wise man answer as if he were speaking in the wind, and fill his stomach with burning heat?

Arguis verbis eum qui non est æqualis tibi, et loqueris quod tibi non expedit.

ill matched for the contest, prating to thy hurt.

Thou reprovest him by words, who is not equal to thee, and thou speakest that which is not good for thee.

Quantum in te est, evacuasti timorem, et tulisti preces coram Deo.

Worse, if thou hadst thy way, all reverence should be abolished, all devotion at an end.

As much as is in thee, thou hast made void fear, and hast taken away prayers from before God.

Docuit enim iniquitas tua os tuum, et imitaris linguam blasphemantium.

Thy tongue takes its instructions from a sinful heart; this is rebel speech.

For thy iniquity hath taught thy mouth, and thou imitatest the tongue of blasphemers.

Condemnabit te os tuum, et non ego: et labia tua respondebunt tibi.

No need for me to prove thee a guilty man, thy words prove it; thy own lips arraign thee.

Thy own mouth shall condemn thee, and not I: and thy own lips shall answer thee.

Numquid primus homo tu natus es, et ante colles formatus?

Tell me, was thine some primeval birth; wast thou made before the hills?

Art thou the first man that was born, or wast thou made before the hills?

numquid consilium Dei audisti, et inferior te erit ejus sapientia?

Hast thou overheard the secrets of God’s council-chamber, that thou thinkest him no match for thee in wisdom?

Hast thou heard God’s counsel, and shall his wisdom be inferior to thee?

Quid nosti quod ignoremus? quid intelligis quod nesciamus?

What knowledge hast thou but we share it, what discernment greater than ours?

What knowest thou that we are ignorant of? what dost thou understand that we know not?

Et senes et antiqui sunt in nobis, multo vetustiores quam patres tui.

We too have ancients among us, grey-headed men that have seen more days than any father of thine.

There are with us also aged and ancient men, much elder than thy fathers.

Numquid grande est ut consoletur te Deus? sed verba tua prava hoc prohibent.

It should be no great matter for God to comfort thee, if thy untimely speech did not forbid it;

Is it a great matter that God should comfort thee? but thy wicked words hinder this.

Quid te elevat cor tuum, et quasi magna cogitans attonitos habes oculos?

what mean these transports, why does that eye roll so wildly?

Why doth thy heart elevate thee, and why dost thou stare with thy eyes, as if they were thinking great things?

Quid tumet contra Deum spiritus tuus, ut proferas de ore tuo hujuscemodi sermones?

What pride is this that would cross God himself, moving thee to rash utterance?

Why doth thy spirit swell against God, to utter such words out of thy mouth?

Quid est homo ut immaculatus sit, et ut justus appareat natus de muliere?

It is not in man to live a life all blameless; never son of woman yet found acquittal.

What is man that he should be without spot, and he that is born of a woman that he should appear just?

Ecce inter sanctos ejus nemo immutabilis, et cæli non sunt mundi in conspectu ejus.

Fickle natures God finds among his very angels; the purity of heaven itself does not suffice him;

Behold among his saints none is unchangeable, and the heavens are not pure in his sight.

Quanto magis abominabilis et inutilis homo, qui bibit quasi aquam iniquitatem?

what of man, the abominable, the defiled, athirst ever for wrong-doing?

How much more is man abominable, and unprofitable, who drinketh iniquity like water?

Ostendam tibi: audi me: quod vidi, narrabo tibi.

Listen, while I tell thee my mind; thou shalt hear what my own eyes have witnessed;

I will shew thee, hear me: and I will tell thee what I have seen.

Sapientes confitentur, et non abscondunt patres suos:

thou shalt hear what wise men have said, making known the tradition of their fathers,

Wise men confess and hide not their fathers.

quibus solis data est terra, et non transivit alienus per eos.

that dwelt ever in their own land, and held no commerce with strangers.

To whom alone the earth was given, and no stranger hath passed among them.

Cunctis diebus suis impius superbit, et numerus annorum incertus est tyrannidis ejus.

Proudly though he carry himself all his days, the godless man is on the rack; how long will his tyrannous reign last?

The wicked man is proud all his days, and the number of the years of his tyranny is uncertain.

Sonitus terroris semper in auribus illius: et cum pax sit, ille semper insidias suspicatur.

All the while, terror whispers in his ear; danger there is none, but he sees plots everywhere.

The sound of dread is always in his ears: and when there is peace, he always suspecteth treason.

Non credit quod reverti possit de tenebris ad lucem, circumspectans undique gladium.

Treads he by dark ways, he never hopes to see light again, swords here, swords there to threaten him;

He believeth not that he may return from darkness to light, looking round about for the sword on every side.

Cum se moverit ad quærendum panem, novit quod paratus sit in manu ejus tenebrarum dies.

ventures he out in search of food, he doubts not his last hour is at hand;

When he moveth himself to seek bread, he knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.

Terrebit eum tribulatio, et angustia vallabit eum, sicut regem qui præparatur ad prælium.

dangers threaten him, difficulties hedge him round, as though he were a king making ready for battle.

Tribulation shall terrify him, and distress shall surround him, as a king that is prepared for the battle.

Tetendit enim adversus Deum manum suam, et contra Omnipotentem roboratus est.

And all because he chose God for his enemy, matched himself against omnipotence;

For he hath stretched out his hand against God, and hath strengthened himself against the Almighty.

Cucurrit adversus eum erecto collo, et pingui cervice armatus est.

head high in air he made the onslaught, proud of his strong sinews,

He hath run against him with his neck raised up, and is armed with a fat neck.

Operuit faciem ejus crassitudo, et de lateribus ejus arvina dependet.

like a bull with hanging dewlap and well-covered flanks.

Fatness hath covered his face, and the fat hangeth down on his sides.

Habitavit in civitatibus desolatis, et in domibus desertis, quæ in tumulos sunt redactæ.

Now he is like some plant that grows amid deserted streets, upon houses uninhabited that lie in ruins;

He hath dwelt in desolate cities, and in desert houses that are reduced into heaps.

Non ditabitur, nec perseverabit substantia ejus, nec mittet in terra radicem suam.

no root shall he strike into the earth, of true wealth or abiding prosperity;

He shall not be enriched, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he push his root in the earth.

Non recedet de tenebris: ramos ejus arefaciet flamma, et auferetur spiritu oris sui.

never leave the shadows, but he is withered up by the heat or carried away by the blast.

He shall not depart out of darkness: the flame shall dry up his branches, and he shall be taken away by the breath of his own mouth.

Non credet, frustra errore deceptus, quod aliquo pretio redimendus sit.

Let no fond hope delude him that he can buy off his doom;

He shall not believe, being vainly deceived by error, that he may be redeemed with any price.

Antequam dies ejus impleantur peribit, et manus ejus arescent.

fall he must before his time; withered every branch,

Before his days be full he shall perish: and his hands shall wither away.

Lædetur quasi vinea in primo flore botrus ejus, et quasi oliva projiciens florem suum.

despoiled the vine with clusters yet unripe, shed the olive’s flower.

He shall be blasted as a vine when its grapes are in the first flower, and as an olive tree that casteth its flower.

Congregatio enim hypocritæ sterilis, et ignis devorabit tabernacula eorum qui munera libenter accipiunt.

Barren, barren the schemer’s plot; the house of the bribe-taker shall burn about his ears.

For the congregation of the hypocrite is barren, and fire shall devour their tabernacles, who love to take bribes.

Concepit dolorem, et peperit iniquitatem, et uterus ejus præparat dolos.

Vainly engendered, borne in the womb, brought forth, their load of misery and infamy and shame.

He hath conceived sorrow, and hath brought forth iniquity, and his womb prepareth deceits.