“Does a wise man answer with empty counsel or fill his belly with the hot east wind?
Parallel translations
- WEB “Should a wise man answer with vain knowledge, and fill himself with the east wind?
- KJV Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind?
- NKJV “Should a wise man answer with empty knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind?
- NASB “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge, And fill himself with the east wind?
- NLT “A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Eliphaz charges that a wise man would not speak empty, windy words. He dismisses Job's defense as hot air.
Overview
Eliphaz asks whether a wise man would answer with 'vain knowledge' and fill himself with the 'east wind,' a scorching, destructive wind. He accuses Job of speaking emptily and harmfully. The taunt reveals how Eliphaz has moved from earlier gentleness to contempt for Job's protests.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Job 6:26Do you intend to correct my words, and treat as wind my cry of despair?
- Job 8:2“How long will you go on saying such things? The words of your mouth are a blustering wind.
- Job 13:2What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you.
- Jas 3:13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
- Hos 12:1Ephraim chases the wind and pursues the east wind all day long; he multiplies lies and violence; he makes a covenant with Assyria and sends olive oil to Egypt.
- Job 11:2–3“Should this stream of words go unanswered and such a speaker be vindicated?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Job's cry for a mediator who can lay his hand on both God and man, and his confidence that 'my Redeemer lives' and will stand on the earth, reaches forward to Jesus the living Redeemer.
How Job 15:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.