Job 15:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Job's friends became upset and offended due to his stern admonishments. However, this was not a display of pride in the sight of God. In fact, Job held firmly to his righteousness and thus regarded their unfounded accusations with disdain. Eliphaz, feeling guilty for reprimanding Job previously, engages in trivial chatter, suggesting that Job had spoken presumptuously before God. Abruptly, without any forewarning, he discloses the rationale behind his disparagement of Job, implying that Job had adopted the speech of the ungodly.

Your iniquity instructs your mouth, and you align yourself with the tongue of the wicked (Job 15:5). Iniquity instructs the mouth when something arising from sinful living is articulated in a distorted manner. Since blessed Job was as candid in his speech as he was righteous in his deeds, his friends—who embody the essence of heretics—accuse him of unrighteousness, citing both his sinful existence and his audacity in speech, insisting, "Your iniquity instructs your mouth." This suggests that all the wickedness you express stems from your evil life. However, it is common for heretics, while appearing to honor the Lord, actually to speak against His sacred mysteries, believing it to be a form of humility when they deny the truth.

In Eliphaz's second address, he firmly counters Job's justifications and identifies his statements as baseless, even opposing the will of God. He implies that Job views prayer as superfluous (15: 1-4). Eliphaz seeks to chastise Job for his hypocrisy and arrogance, as Job claims to possess the wisdom and insight of the elders (5-12) and, in forgetting that all fall short of purity before God, sees himself as virtuous (13-16). However, Eliphaz juxtaposes Job's perspective with the ancient wisdom of their forebears, who were recognized for their long lives and rich experiences. These ancestors declared that the wicked live in constant trepidation and meet a dreadful end, precisely due to their pride in the presence of God (17-35).