17 "I will tell you, listen to me; And what I have seen I will also declare ; 18 What wise men have told , And have not concealed from their fathers , 19 To whom alone the land was given , And no alien passed among them. 20 "The wicked man writhes in pain all his days , And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless . 21 "Sounds of terror are in his ears ; While at peace the destroyer comes upon him. 22 "He does not believe that he will return from darkness , And he is destined for the sword . 23 "He wanders about for food , saying, 'Where is it?' He knows that a day of darkness is at hand . 24 "Distress and anguish terrify him, They overpower him like a king ready for the attack , 25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty . 26 "He rushes headlong at Him With his massive e shield . 27 "For he has covered his face with his fat And made his thighs heavy with flesh . 28 "He has lived in desolate cities , In houses no one would inhabit , Which are destined to become ruins . 29 "He will not become rich , nor will his wealth endure ; And his grain will not bend down to the ground . 30 "He will not escape from darkness ; The flame will wither his shoots , And by the breath of His mouth he will go away . 31 "Let him not trust in emptiness , deceiving himself; For emptiness will be his reward . 32 "It will be accomplished before his time , And his palm branch will not be green . 33 "He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine , And will cast off his flower like the olive tree . 34 "For the company of the godless is barren , And fire consumes the tents of the corrupt . 35 "They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity , And their mind prepares deception ."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 15:17-35
Commentary on Job 15:17-35
(Read Job 15:17-35)
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?