Job Chapter 15

Eliphaz Speaks in the Second Round of Speeches

A. Eliphaz criticizes Job a second time

1. Job 15:1–6, The answer and accusation of Eliphaz

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

Eliphaz responds sharply to Job, no longer with the measured tone seen in his first speech, but with open accusation. By asking whether a wise man should speak with empty knowledge, Eliphaz dismisses Job’s previous appeals to God as hollow and worthless. The image of being filled with the east wind is deliberate. In the ancient Near Eastern world, the east wind was known as hot, destructive, and barren. Eliphaz is accusing Job of producing words that are forceful in sound but empty in substance, words that bring no nourishment, wisdom, or healing.

As the dialogue intensifies, the language becomes more severe and coarse. Eliphaz no longer grants Job the benefit of sincere struggle. Instead, he frames Job’s words as unprofitable talk, speech that does no good, neither to Job himself nor to those listening. From Eliphaz’s perspective, Job’s insistence on his integrity is pointless, because Eliphaz has already concluded that suffering must be the result of sin. Therefore, anything short of confession sounds to him like foolish resistance.

When Eliphaz accuses Job of restraining prayer before God, he crosses from theological disagreement into false spiritual judgment. Eliphaz assumes that Job’s bold speech proves a lack of reverence and prayerfulness. Scripture, however, demonstrates that Job was a man deeply committed to God and to intercessory prayer.

“There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” (Job 1:1)

“And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.” (Job 1:5)

Eliphaz could not see Job’s private devotion, and his accusation exposes the danger of judging another man’s spiritual life based solely on outward suffering and emotional expression. Job’s prayers were not absent, they were simply not shaped according to Eliphaz’s rigid expectations.

By stating, “Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I,” Eliphaz claims neutrality while actively condemning Job. He argues that Job’s words themselves prove guilt. In Eliphaz’s framework, the only acceptable speech from a suffering man is quiet repentance. Any protest of innocence is interpreted as pride, rebellion, or deceit.

2. Job 15:7–13, Eliphaz accuses Job of a lack of understanding

“Art thou the first man that was born?
Or wast thou made before the hills?
Hast thou heard the secret of God?
And dost thou restrain wisdom to thyself?
What knowest thou, that we know not?
What understandest thou, which is not in us?
With us are both the grayheaded and very aged men,
Much elder than thy father.
Are the consolations of God small with thee?
Is there any secret thing with thee?
Why doth thine heart carry thee away?
And what do thy eyes wink at,
That thou turnest thy spirit against God,
And lettest such words go out of thy mouth?”

Eliphaz appeals to age, tradition, and collective wisdom as the basis of his authority. By asking whether Job was born before the hills, he mocks Job’s confidence and implies that true wisdom belongs to the ancient and the experienced. Later, God will indeed confront Job with questions about creation, but the purpose will be entirely different. God will reveal the limits of human knowledge in order to lead Job to trust. Eliphaz uses similar language to silence Job and reinforce his own conclusions.

Eliphaz insists that Job has no unique insight and no special understanding. Yet this is precisely where Eliphaz is wrong. Job does not claim omniscience or divine counsel. He claims something far more modest and far more accurate. He knows that he is not living in hidden, unrepentant sin. His friends believe they know the reason for his suffering. Job knows that their explanation does not fit the reality of his life.

When Eliphaz asks whether the consolations of God are too small for Job, he reveals another serious error. Eliphaz equates God’s comfort with the counsel offered by himself and the other friends. To reject their interpretation, in his mind, is to reject God Himself. This confusion between divine truth and human opinion leads Eliphaz to accuse Job of turning his spirit against God.

Eliphaz’s words are unjust toward Job, yet the phrase “the consolations of God” points to a profound biblical truth. God does indeed comfort His people, though not always through simplistic explanations or immediate relief. Scripture identifies the source and substance of divine consolation clearly.

“And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.” (Luke 2:25)

The consolations of God are not merely words spoken by well meaning friends. They are applied by the Holy Spirit, who is the Comforter. They are centered in the person of Jesus Christ, the Consolation of Israel. They address the reality of sin, not by denial, but by redemption. They promise a new heart, a transformed nature, and a future hope that extends beyond present suffering. God’s consolations assure believers that their pain is not meaningless, that God is present with them in affliction, and that eternal glory awaits beyond temporary trials.

Eliphaz’s failure lies not in affirming that God comforts His people, but in assuming that his own conclusions fully represent God’s voice. In doing so, he turns comfort into accusation and wisdom into condemnation.

B. Eliphaz groups Job with the wicked deserving of and receiving judgment

1. Job 15:14–16, The universal impurity of mankind

“What is man, that he should be clean?
And he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?
Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints;
Yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.
How much more abominable and filthy is man,
Which drinketh iniquity like water?”

Eliphaz shifts his argument from direct accusation to a broader theological claim about human impurity. He asks what man is, that he could possibly be pure or righteous. On the surface, this statement is true in a general, biblical sense. Scripture consistently affirms that fallen humanity is sinful and cannot claim righteousness before God on its own merits.

“For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10)

The problem is not Eliphaz’s doctrine of universal sinfulness, but how he weaponizes it against Job. Job has never claimed sinless perfection. He has openly acknowledged his humanity and weakness. Yet Eliphaz treats the general truth of human sin as proof that Job must be guilty of some specific, grievous wickedness deserving extraordinary judgment.

When Eliphaz says that God puts no trust in His saints, he appears to be referring to heavenly beings, likely angels. This idea echoes earlier statements made by Eliphaz.

“Behold, he put no trust in his servants; and his angels he charged with folly.” (Job 4:18)

Eliphaz reasons that if even angels are not fully trusted or pure in God’s sight, then man, who is born of a woman and immersed in sin, must be far more corrupt. His description of man as abominable and filthy, drinking iniquity like water, is intentionally demeaning. It paints humanity as naturally inclined toward sin, consuming it eagerly and constantly.

Again, the theological principle contains truth, but Eliphaz presses it beyond its proper use. Universal corruption does not automatically explain individual suffering. Eliphaz collapses the distinction between being a sinner in Adam and being a wicked man under direct divine judgment. In doing so, he leaves no room for righteous suffering, testing, discipline, or mystery in God’s providence.

2. Job 15:17–26, The suffering that comes upon the wicked

“I will shew thee, hear me;
And that which I have seen I will declare;
Which wise men have told from their fathers,
And have not hid it:
Unto whom alone the earth was given,
And no stranger passed among them.
The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days,
And the number of years is hidden to the oppressor.
A dreadful sound is in his ears:
In prosperity the destroyer shall come upon him.
He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness,
And he is waited for of the sword.
He wandereth abroad for bread, saying, Where is it?
He knoweth that the day of darkness is ready at his hand.
Trouble and anguish shall make him afraid;
They shall prevail against him, as a king ready to the battle.
For he stretcheth out his hand against God,
And strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.
He runneth upon him, even on his neck,
Upon the thick bosses of his bucklers.”

Eliphaz now claims authority for his argument. He appeals to personal experience, to inherited wisdom, and to ancient tradition. By invoking what wise men have told from their fathers, he presents his conclusions as unquestionable truth passed down through generations. This appeal to tradition becomes the foundation of his certainty. In his mind, the accumulated wisdom of the past leaves no room for Job’s protest or for exceptions to the rule.

Eliphaz describes the wicked man as one who lives in constant torment. His days are filled with pain, fear, and dread. Even in prosperity, destruction lurks nearby. Darkness, hunger, anxiety, and sudden judgment characterize his life. The portrait is vivid and terrifying, and Eliphaz’s intent is unmistakable. He is describing Job’s present condition and asserting that it fits perfectly with the fate of the wicked.

This rigid cause and effect theology allows no nuance. If a man suffers greatly, he must be wicked. If he prospers, judgment is simply delayed. There is no category for innocent suffering, divine testing, or suffering that serves a purpose beyond punishment.

By the time Eliphaz reaches the climax of his speech, the accusation becomes explicit. The wicked man stretches out his hand against God and acts defiantly against the Almighty. He charges God like a warrior, shield raised, hardened in rebellion. Though Eliphaz never names Job directly in this description, the implication is unavoidable. Job’s bold speech and refusal to confess imaginary crimes are interpreted as arrogance, defiance, and hostility toward God Himself.

This reveals the cruelty of Eliphaz’s position. He cannot imagine that a righteous man might wrestle honestly with God in pain. He assumes that questioning God must equal attacking God. In doing so, Eliphaz transforms Job’s faith struggle into evidence of rebellion.

The tragedy is that Eliphaz speaks many things that are broadly true about sin and judgment, yet applies them without discernment, compassion, or humility. His theology leaves no room for grace, mystery, or the sovereignty of God beyond mechanical retribution. As a result, his words become an instrument of accusation rather than comfort.

3. Job 15:27–35, The certainty of God’s judgment against the wicked

“Because he covereth his face with his fatness,
And maketh collops of fat on his flanks.
And he dwelleth in desolate cities,
And in houses which no man inhabiteth,
Which are ready to become heaps.
He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue,
Neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.
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.
Let not him that is deceived trust in vanity:
For vanity shall be his recompence.
It shall be accomplished before his time,
And his branch shall not be green.
He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine,
And shall cast off his flower as the olive.
For the congregation of hypocrites shall be desolate,
And fire shall consume the tabernacles of bribery.
They conceive mischief, and bring forth vanity,
And their belly prepareth deceit.”

Eliphaz concludes his speech with what he presents as an unbreakable certainty. God’s judgment upon the wicked is inevitable, thorough, and final. He begins by describing the outward appearance of prosperity. The wicked man is fat, well fed, and apparently secure. In the ancient world, fatness was not a sign of excess or moral failure, but of abundance, comfort, and success. Eliphaz concedes, at least implicitly, that the wicked may prosper for a season.

Yet he immediately undercuts that prosperity. Despite outward success, the wicked man dwells in desolate cities and abandoned houses destined for ruin. Eliphaz paints the picture of a man surrounded by wealth yet spiritually isolated, living among decay rather than blessing. This description mirrors Job’s present circumstances with disturbing precision. Job has lost his household, his wealth, and his place in the community, and Eliphaz deliberately aligns that reality with the fate of the wicked.

Eliphaz insists that such prosperity will not last. The wicked will not remain rich, their substance will not endure, and their influence will not spread or remain established in the land. Darkness, judgment, and divine breath will consume them. The imagery of branches being dried up and blown away by God’s breath emphasizes total removal and divine initiative. Judgment does not arise from chance or misfortune but from the direct action of God.

Eliphaz then issues what sounds like a warning but functions as an accusation. The wicked man must not trust in vanity, because vanity will be his reward. Futility, emptiness, and loss are the inevitable outcome of his life. Judgment will arrive prematurely, before his time, and his branch will never flourish. His fruit will fall before it ripens, and his blossoms will wither before producing oil. The symbols of agricultural failure underline barrenness, wasted potential, and divine rejection.

Eliphaz broadens his condemnation to include the entire company of hypocrites. Their congregation will be desolate, their dwellings consumed by fire, and their lives marked by bribery, corruption, and deceit. Though Eliphaz still speaks in general terms, the direction of his argument is unmistakable. He has fully grouped Job with hypocrites, liars, and evildoers. Job’s suffering, in Eliphaz’s view, is not mysterious or tragic. It is deserved.

The final accusation is especially severe. The wicked conceive mischief and bring forth vanity, their inner life producing deception rather than truth. In this way, Eliphaz implies that Job’s former righteousness was only an illusion, a carefully maintained outward appearance masking a corrupt heart. This represents the full collapse of Eliphaz’s pastoral posture. The man who once spoke gently now assumes that Job’s entire life was built on hypocrisy.

Eliphaz’s theology contains real insight into the destiny of rebellion against God. Scripture does affirm that wickedness ultimately leads to ruin. Yet Eliphaz’s fatal error is application. He assumes that every instance of suffering proves wickedness, and every loss proves guilt. He leaves no room for testing, discipline, spiritual conflict, or righteous suffering. In doing so, he transforms truth into a weapon and justice into cruelty.