Chapter 15
| Collection: | The Book of Job and 42 Paintings |
| Author: | Fr. Antonio Oteiza |
| Type: | Painting |
| Location: | Cataloguing Room |
| Characteristics: | Acrylic paint on cardboard |
| Artwork: |
Click to enlarge |
| Description: |
Eliphaz of Teman then spoke and said: “Does a wise man answer with false teaching or fill himself with the east wind, arguing with empty reasoning or meaningless words? You even destroy the fear of God and do away with prayer. Your guilt inspires your words, and you adopt the language of cunning. Your own mouth condemns you, not I; your lips testify against you. Were you the first man ever born? Were you brought forth before the hills? Have you attended the council of God? Have you claimed wisdom for yourself alone? What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that we do not understand? Among us are men with venerable grey hair, men older even than your father. Are the consolations of God too little for you, and the gentle word spoken softly to you? How your passion carries you away, and how your eyes flash! You turn your fury against God and let protests pour from your mouth. How can man be pure, or one born of woman be innocent? He does not find even his angels faithful, nor are the heavens pure in his sight. How much less man, detestable and corrupt, who drinks iniquity like water! Listen to me, for I am going to speak; I will tell you what I have seen, what the wise proclaimed without concealing it, what they received from their ancestors —to them alone the land was given, and no stranger passed among them. The wicked man spends his life in torment; only a few years are stored up for the tyrant. Terrifying sounds fill his ears; when he is most at ease, robbers fall upon him. He has no hope of returning from the darkness, for he is destined for the sword. He is cast as food for the vultures and knows that his ruin is near. The day of darkness terrifies him; anguish and distress seize him like a king prepared for battle. For he stretched out his hand against God and defied the Almighty, charging headlong against him behind his massive, bossed shield. Because his cheeks had grown fat and flesh had gathered around his waist, he will dwell in abandoned cities, in uninhabitable houses threatening to collapse. He will no longer be rich, nor will his wealth endure; his possessions will not descend with him to the grave, nor will he escape the darkness. The scorching wind will burn his shoots, and the wind will carry away his flowers. Let him not deceive himself by trusting in emptiness, for emptiness will be his reward. Before his time he will wither, and his branches will never grow green again. He will be like a vine that sheds its unripe grapes, like an olive tree that casts off its blossoms. The company of the godless is barren, and fire will devour the tents of those who take bribes. “They conceive misery and give birth to disaster; within their womb they nurture deception.” |
