1 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
2 Should a wise man vtter vaine knowledge, and fill his belly with the East winde?
3 Should hee reason with vnprofitable talke? or with speeches wherewith he can doe no good?
4 Yea thou castest off feare, and restrainest prayer before God.
5 For thy mouth vttereth thine iniquitie, and thou choosest the tongue of the craftie.
6 Thine owne mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea thine owne lippes testifie against thee.
7 Art thou the first man that was borne? or wast thou made before the hilles?
8 Hast thou heard the secret of God? and doest thou restraine wisedome to thy selfe?
9 What knowest thou that we know not? what vnderstandest thou, which is not in vs?
10 With vs are both the gray headed, and very aged men, much elder then thy father.
11 Are the consolations of God small with thee? is there any secret thing with thee?
12 Why doeth thine heart carie thee away? and what doe thine eyes winke at,
13 That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words goe out of thy mouth?
14 What is man, that he should be cleane? and he which is borne of a woman, that he should be righteous?
15 Beholde, he putteth no trust in his Saints, yea, the heauens are not cleane in his sight.
16 How much more abominable and filthie is man, which drinketh iniquitie like water?
17 I will shew thee, heare me, and that which I haue seene, I wil declare,
18 Which wise men haue tolde from their fathers, and haue not hid it:
19 Unto whom alone the earth was giuen, and no stranger passed among them.
20 The wicked man trauaileth with paine all his dayes, and the number of yeeres is hidden to the oppressour.
21 A dreadfull sound is in his eares; in prosperitie the destroyer shall come vpon him.
22 He beleeueth not that he shall returne out of darkenesse, and he is waited for, of the sword.
23 He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it? he knoweth that the day of darkenes is ready at his hand.
24 Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid; they shall preuaile against him, as a king ready to the battell.
25 For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himselfe against the Almightie.
26 He runneth vpon him, euen on his necke, vpon the thicke bosses of his bucklers:
27 Because he couereth his face with his fatnesse, and maketh collops of fat on his flankes.
28 And he dwelleth in desolate cities, and in houses which no man inhabiteth, which are ready to become heapes.
29 He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof vpon the earth.
30 He shall not depart out of darkenesse, the flame shall drie vp his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he goe away.
31 Let not him that is deceiued, trust in vanitie: for vanitie shalbe his recompence.
32 It shall be accomplished before his time, and his branch shall not bee greene.
33 He shal shake off his vnripe grape as the Uine, and shall cast off his flowre as the Oliue.
34 For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the tabernacles of briberie.
35 They conceiue mischiefe, and bring forth vanitie, and their belly prepareth deceit.
Eliphaz reproves Job. (1-16) The unquietness of wicked men. (17-35)1-16 Eliphaz begins a second attack upon Job, instead of being softened by his complaints. He unjustly charges Job with casting off the fear of God, and all regard to him, and restraining prayer. See in what religion is summed up, fearing God, and praying to him; the former the most needful principle, the latter the most needful practice. Eliphaz charges Job with self-conceit. He charges him with contempt of the counsels and comforts given him by his friends. We are apt to think that which we ourselves say is important, when others, with reason, think little of it. He charges him with opposition to God. Eliphaz ought not to have put harsh constructions upon the words of one well known for piety, and now in temptation. It is plain that these disputants were deeply convinced of the doctrine of original sin, and the total depravity of human nature. Shall we not admire the patience of God in bearing with us? and still more his love to us in the redemption of Christ Jesus his beloved Son?
17-35 Eliphaz maintains that the wicked are certainly miserable: whence he would infer, that the miserable are certainly wicked, and therefore Job was so. But because many of God's people have prospered in this world, it does not therefore follow that those who are crossed and made poor, as Job, are not God's people. Eliphaz shows also that wicked people, particularly oppressors, are subject to continual terror, live very uncomfortably, and perish very miserably. Will the prosperity of presumptuous sinners end miserably as here described? Then let the mischiefs which befal others, be our warnings. Though no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby. No calamity, no trouble, however heavy, however severe, can rob a follower of the Lord of his favour. What shall separate him from the love of Christ?
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.