Глава 15

Eliphaz's second speech. 1–16. Job's reproach for lack of wisdom. 17–35. Description of the death of a sinner. Job 15:1. And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: Job 15:2. will the wise man respond with empty knowledge and fill his belly with the scorching wind, Job 15:3. justify yourself with useless words and speech that has no power? Job 15:4. Yes, you have put aside fear and consider speaking to God as a small thing. Reproaching his friends for foolishness (Job 12.1–6), Job himself deserves the same accusation. His lack of wisdom is evidenced by emptiness (see note to Job 11.2), ardor, irritability of speech (“fills the belly with the scorching wind,” more precisely, “the wind of the east”) - the words of the wise are imbued with calmness ( Proverbs 14.29; Eccl. 9.17) - and, finally, the denial of the fear of God, the beginning of all wisdom ( Job 28.28; Proverbs 1.7; Proverbs 9.10; Ps 110.10; Sir 1.15–16). In the opinion of Eliphaz, Job denies the fear of God and is unsteady in piety because he rejects Divine Justice both in relation to himself, considering himself innocently punished, and in relation to all people (Job 9.22, etc.) With the loss of fear and feelings of reverence for God in Job’s speeches, due respect for the Lord is not noticeable: “you consider speech to God as a small thing” (v. 4). Job 15:5. Your wickedness has set your mouth this way, and you have chosen the tongue of the wicked. Job 15:6. It is your mouth that accuses you, not I, and your tongue speaks against you. Denial of the fear of God constitutes a direct manifestation of wickedness (Ps. 9:25, 27, 32, 34, 35:2). Consequently, Job himself testifies to his sinfulness, guilt, he himself appears in the role of a self-accuser: “your mouth accuses you, not I.” Job 15:7. Were you the first man born and created before the hills? Job 15:8. Have you heard the counsel of God and attracted wisdom to yourself? In his speeches, Job did not show the usual wisdom characteristic of man. Moreover, he has no reason to acquire any special wisdom that encourages his friends to remain completely silent (Job 12.13). He is not the first person, and therefore is not endowed with those highest qualities that were characteristic of this last one. He was not created before the hills, as if from eternity (Ps 89.3; Proverbs 8.25), did not stand in direct relationship with God and was not dedicated by Him to the plans of world government (Wis. 9.13). Job 15:9. What do you know that we don't know? What do you understand that we would not have? Job 15:10. And there is a gray-haired man and an old man among us, longer than your father in days. Job is an ordinary mortal man; his knowledge is no higher than the knowledge of his friends. But since the latter refer in their speeches to the experience of ancestors older than Job’s ancestors, and therefore wiser, he must agree with them. Job 15:11. Is God's consolation not enough for you? And this is unknown to you? Job 15:12. Why does your heart yearn for you, and why do you look so proudly? Job 15:13. Why do you direct your spirit against God and utter such speeches with your lips? Job 15:14. What is man that he should be pure, and that he who is born of a woman should be righteous? Job 15:15. Behold, He does not trust His saints, and the heavens are unclean in His sight: Job 15:16. the more unclean and corrupt the person who drinks iniquity like water. According to his knowledge, Job is an ordinary mortal man. Therefore, first of all, it is inappropriate on his part to have a disdainful attitude (Job 12.1-6) towards the reasoning of his friends, their meek speeches (“Is the consolation of God and the meek words addressed to you of little importance to you?” - v. 11); secondly, impudent, proud speech to God is not permissible (vv. 12-13). In them, he accuses Him of injustice, considering himself innocently punished. Job has no right to reason like this, because the tendency to sin is, like every person, a need of nature (v. 16). He cannot be pure in the eyes of God (v. 14): the disaster that befell him is fully deserved by him. Job 15:17. Я буду говорить тебе, слушай меня; I'll tell you what I saw Job 15:18. what the wise heard and did not hide what they heard from their fathers, Job 15:19. to whom alone was the land given, and among whom no stranger walked. Eliphaz's confidence in Job's lack of wisdom gives him the right to express his view on the controversial issue of earthly reward. In contrast to the judgments of Job, the teaching set forth by his elder friend is distinguished by unconditional reliability. It is not his personal view, but the view of the sages of former times, transmitted to them by their ancestors and compiled by the latter on the basis of personal experience and observation; there are no extraneous, foreign admixtures in it: the ancestors lived at a time when foreigners did not invade their country (v. 19). Job 15:20. The wicked torments himself all his days, and the number of years is hidden from the oppressor; Job 15:21. the sound of horrors in his ears; in the midst of the world the destroyer comes against him. Job 15:22. He does not hope to be saved from darkness; sees a sword in front of him. Job 15:23. He wanders everywhere for a piece of bread; knows that he is already ready, the day of darkness is in his hands. Job 15:24. He is frightened by need and cramped conditions; overcomes him like a king preparing for battle, According to the teachings of the ancestors set forth by Eliphaz, the wicked never enjoy the present world; his conscience, burdened with crimes, constantly makes him fear disasters. The torment is further intensified by the fact that the sinner knows no end to it: “a number of years are hidden from the oppressor” (v. 20). Premonitions of disaster created on the basis of torment of conscience are justified: the wicked hears frightening sounds that foreshadow his death. And although it befalls him at a time when he enjoys prosperity (v. 21), there is no way to escape: the sword of divine vengeance strikes the sinner (v. 22). The misfortune to which the wicked is doomed - for the rich it is complete poverty (v. 23) - befalls him with irresistible force (v. 24). Job 15:25. because he stretched out his hand against God and resisted the Almighty, Job 15:26. rushed against Him with a proud neck, under his thick shields; Job 15:27. for he covered his face with his fat, and covered his lads with fat. The cause of the death of the sinner is arrogant resistance to God from the consciousness of his power (v. 25; cf. Isa 23.11; Eze 25.7; v. 26; cf. 1 Samuel 2.3; Ps 72.3–9, 74.5–6), combined with insensitivity to divine influences (v. 27 cf. Deut. 32.15; Ps. 72.7, 11). Like an obese person, indifferent to everything around him, the sinner does not want to see and understand the admonitions addressed to him. Job 15:28. And he settles in ruined cities, in houses in which no one lives, which are doomed to ruins. One of the manifestations of such a mood is the settlement of the sinner in those places with which the memory of divine punishment is connected, and which, as visual monuments of just anger, keep the God-fearing from trying to establish themselves in them. Based on the following 29 Art. one might think that the settlement of the wicked in places doomed to desolation is caused by greed, a passion for acquiring wealth. Job 15:29. He will not remain rich, and his property will not survive, and his gain will not spread throughout the earth. Job 15:30. Will not escape from darkness; The fire will dry up its branches and carry it away with the breath of its lips. Job 15:31. Let the lost one not trust vanity, for vanity will also be his reward. Job 15:32. It will not die on its own day, and its branches will not grow green. Job 15:33. He will shed his unripe berries like a vine and shake off his blossom like an olive tree. Job 15:34. Thus the house of the wicked will be desolate, and the fire will consume the tents of bribery. Job 15:35. He conceived evil and gave birth to lies, and his womb prepares deception. The prosperity of the sinner created in the above way (v. 28) is fragile. His acquisition is not destined to flourish and reach maturity: “his acquisition will not spread throughout the earth” (the image of the expression is borrowed from a branch laden with fruits). It will perish like a tree thrown into the fire. The "branches" are not the children of the wicked, as descendants are discussed below, but parts of a growing accumulated wealth, which is compared to a tree. It is impossible to firmly settle in areas and houses doomed to desolation and ruins (v. 29): hope for this is vain and vain. Anyone who thinks and acts differently (“mistaken”) will face destruction. A sinner who has become fat and has despised the divine determination is punished not only by the destruction of property, but also by premature death (v. 32; cf. Ps 54:24, 72:18, 19, 77:31, 33) and the same death of his children (v. 33). Metaphorical summary of the previous speech. Sin is always and inevitably accompanied by misfortune (Job 4.8; Ps 7.15–17; Is 59.4). You might be interested in: