the mouth (as the means of blowing) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
uttereth
יְאַלֵּ֣ףye.'a.Lef
H502
hence · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
iniquity
עֲוֹנְךָ֣'a.vo.ne.Kha
H5771
perversity · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
choosest
וְ֝תִבְחַ֗רve.tiv.Char
H977
properly · conjunction + verb, qal, 2nd person masculine singular
tongue
לְשׁ֣וֹןle.Shon
H3956
the tongue (of man or animals) · noun, common both genders singular construct
crafty
עֲרוּמִֽים'a.ru.Mim
H6175
cunning (usually in a bad sense) · adjective, masculine plural absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 9:3-5 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to ev…
James 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
Psalms 50:19-20 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
Psalms 52:2-4 Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
Jeremiah 9:8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his…
Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart br…
James 3:5-8 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Job 5:13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Job 15:1-16
Eliphaz here falls very foul upon Job, because he contradicted what he and his colleagues had said, and did not acquiesce in it and applaud it, as they expected. Proud people are apt thus to take it very much amiss if they may not have leave to dictate and give law to all about them, and to censure those as ignorant and obstinate, and all that is naught, who cannot in every thing say as they say. Several great crimes Eliphaz here charges Job with, only because he would not own himself a hypocrite.
I. He charges him with folly and absurdity (Job 15:2, Job 15:3), that, whereas he had been reputed a wise man, he had now quite forfeited his reputation; any one would say that his wisdom had depar…
The sophistry of thine own speeches proves thy guilt.
John Gill on Job 15:5
For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity,.... Which was in his heart, and so was an evidence against him, and proved him perverse, and made good the above charges exhibited against him: or "thine iniquity teaches thy mouth" (y); the wickedness that was in his heart prompted his mouth to speak the things he did, see Matthew 12:34; and this, as it was an instance of his folly, Proverbs 15:2; so a proof of his casting off the fear of the Lord; for if that had been before his eyes, he would have bridled his lips, and not uttered all the wickedness of his heart: for he that "bridleth not his tongue, this man's religion is vain", James 1:26;
and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty; coloured over…
1 Then began Eliphaz the Temanite, and said:
2 Doth a wise man utter vain knowledge,
And fill his breast with the east wind?
3 Contending with words, that profit not,
And speeches, by which no good is done?
4 Moreover, thou makest void the fear of God,
And thou restrainest devotion before God;
5 For thy mouth exposeth thy misdeeds,
And thou choosest the language of the crafty.
6 Thine own mouth condemneth thee and not I,
And thine own lips testify against thee.
The second course of the controversy is again opened by Eliphaz, the most respectable, most influential, and perhaps oldest of the friends. Job's detailed and bitter answers seem to him as empty words and impassioned tirades, which il…
The Church Fathers
"And you preferred the language of the wicked; That of the curse.
Because Job reproached his friends with confidence, they were irritated and hurt. This did not demonstrate any arrogance before God. In fact, since Job trusted in his own innocence, he did not take seriously at all the vain power of his accusers. Feeling ashamed in rebuking Job for his former words, [Eliphaz] says, in a vain attempt at useless chatter, that Job spoke of him with arrogance before God. And then, without waiting any longer, he hastens to reveal the reason why he denigrated Job, because Job had no consideration for "the words of the powerful."
Whence it is still further added, For thine iniquity teacheth thy mouth, and thou followest the tongue of the crafty. 'Iniquity teaches the mouth,' when there is conceived by a bad life somewhat to be spoken of a worse kind. Now because blessed Job was free in speech in proportion as he was holy in action, by his friends, who hold the type of heretics, he is found fault with at once on the grounds of a wicked life and of a bold mouth, so that it should be said, Thine iniquity teacheth thy mouth. As if it were said to him in plain words, 'What thou speakest wickedly, thou hast learnt of a more wicked life.' But it often happens that heretics, whilst in seeming they venerate God, oppose His mysteries, and they think it humility if they deny the truth. For there are some, who imagine that they are bringing injury upon God, if they confess that He took true flesh, or if they should think that He was capable of really dying for us in the flesh. And whilst they endeavour as it were to bestow upon God a greater degree of honour, they are enforced to deny the real praises of His goodness. For in praise of His charity what is there more efficacious, than that in our behalf He should make those things meet to Himself for the undertaking them, which seem for Him unworthy. But Holy Church confesses His very and true Flesh, His very and true Death, but in declaring these things she is thought by Heretics to put an indignity upon God. Whence it is said now, And thou followest the tongue of them that blaspheme. And if any piece of adversity befall her in this world, they say that it was brought upon her by this very injuriousness of her confession.
Dictionary and topics
Pride · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
You are nothing but a windbag (literally You fill your belly with the east wind): Since the east wind was hot, it might represent heated (Exod 14:21; Hos 13:15; Jon 4:8) or violent (Job 27:21; Jer 18:17) speech.
Rashi on Job 15:5
For your iniquity teaches Your evil inclination [teaches] your mouth to speak such words, but you should have chosen the tongue of the crafty.
