Bible Glide

Job 15

Job 15 Summary, Context, and Full Chapter

In Job 15, Eliphaz answers Job with sharp criticism. He challenges Job's words, questions his wisdom, and argues that no person can claim purity before God. He then describes what he believes will happen to the wicked, using a vivid picture of fear, loss, and ruin.

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What happens in Job 15?

Eliphaz begins by accusing Job of speaking uselessly and acting as if he knows more than the elders. He says Job's suffering words show a heart turned against God. Eliphaz then makes a broad claim about human sinfulness, insisting that even heaven is not pure in God's sight, much less ordinary people. He closes with a long description of the wicked person's downfall, saying violence, pride, and deceit lead to terror, poverty, and destruction.

This chapter is part of the second cycle of speeches in Job, where the friends respond more directly and harshly to Job's protests. Eliphaz speaks first again, continuing the pattern of defending God's justice by linking suffering with wrongdoing. Job 15 pushes the debate further by making the case that Job's complaints themselves are evidence against him.

Themes to notice

  • Human frailtyEliphaz stresses that no person is naturally pure or able to stand righteous before God.
  • Words and judgmentHe treats Job's speech as self-condemning and sees speech as a sign of the heart.
  • The fate of the wickedThe chapter paints a strong picture of fear, loss, and collapse for those who oppose God.

Questions for Job 15

  • What is Eliphaz trying to prove by focusing on Job's words?
  • How does this chapter describe the condition of human beings before God?
  • What warnings does Eliphaz give about the path of the wicked?

Read the full text of Job 15 below, then open it in the reader to highlight, take notes, or ask follow-up Bible questions. No account is required to read.

Job 15

Eliphaz: Job Does Not Fear God

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel

or fill his belly with the hot east wind?

3Should he argue with useless words

or speeches that serve no purpose?

4But you even undermine the fear of God

and hinder meditation before Him.

5For your iniquity instructs your mouth,

and you choose the language of the crafty.

6Your own mouth, not mine, condemns you;

your own lips testify against you.

7Were you the first man ever born?

Were you brought forth before the hills?

8Do you listen in on the council of God

or limit wisdom to yourself?

9What do you know that we do not?

What do you understand that is not clear to us?

10Both the gray-haired and the aged are on our side—

men much older than your father.

11Are the consolations of God not enough for you,

even words spoken gently to you?

12Why has your heart carried you away,

and why do your eyes flash,

13as you turn your spirit against God

and pour such words from your mouth?

14What is man, that he should be pure,

or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?

15If God puts no trust in His holy ones,

if even the heavens are not pure in His eyes,

16how much less man, who is vile and corrupt,

who drinks injustice like water?

17Listen to me and I will inform you.

I will describe what I have seen,

18what was declared by wise men

and was not concealed from their fathers,

19to whom alone the land was given

when no foreigner passed among them.

20A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;

only a few years are reserved for the ruthless.

21Sounds of terror fill his ears;

in his prosperity the destroyer attacks him.

22He despairs of his return from darkness;

he is marked for the sword.

23He wanders about as food for vultures;

he knows the day of darkness is at hand.

24Distress and anguish terrify him,

overwhelming him like a king poised to attack.

25For he has stretched out his hand against God

and has vaunted himself against the Almighty,

26rushing headlong at Him

with a thick, studded shield.

27Though his face is covered with fat

and his waistline bulges with flesh,

28he will dwell in ruined cities,

in abandoned houses destined to become rubble.

29He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.

His possessions will not overspread the land.

30He will not escape from the darkness;

the flame will wither his shoots,

and the breath of God’s mouth

will carry him away.

31Let him not deceive himself with trust in emptiness,

for emptiness will be his reward.

32It will be paid in full before his time,

and his branch will not flourish.

33He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes,

like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.

34For the company of the godless will be barren,

and fire will consume the tents of bribery.

35They conceive trouble and give birth to evil;

their womb is pregnant with deceit.”

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