Job 15:14

The context

Job 15 is Eliphaz's second speech, and it is harsher than his first. He accuses Job of undermining religion and of speaking with a windy tongue, and he appeals to the tradition of the aged. Verse 14 restates the old claim that no mortal is clean, using it to silence Job's protest.

What it establishes

The verse establishes the friends' anthropology: human beings are inherently impure, so any claim to a hearing before God is presumption. It is a real argument, and it is put in the mouth of a character who represents a tradition rather than a private opinion.

What it does not establish

It is not the book's verdict. Eliphaz is one of the friends whom God rebukes at the end for not speaking rightly, and the verse reports his position rather than endorsing it. Nor does it distinguish between creaturely lowliness and moral guilt, which is the confusion Job's case exposes.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Job is described as “righteous” and “blameless.” Can these descriptions be taken seriously if the Bible is said to teach the universal sinfulness of mankind?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.