Then answered Eliphaz the Themanite:

And Eliphaz the Themanite, answered, and said:

Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:

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?

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 primus homo tu natus es, et ante colles formatus?

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?

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

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?

Quid nosti quod ignoremus? quid intelligis quod nesciamus?

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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?

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

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.

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

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?

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

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.

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

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

Wise men confess and hide not their fathers.

Sapientes confitentur, et non abscondunt patres suos:

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

fall he must before his time; withered every branch,

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

Antequam dies ejus impleantur peribit, et manus ejus arescent.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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