Joba 22
1 Temani Eliphaz loh a doo tih,
Then Eliphaz replied,
2 “Pathen te hlang loh a hmaiben a? Lungming khaw amah la dawk a hmaiben uh.
“(Can anyone be useful to God?/Certainly no one can be useful to God.) [RHQ] Even people who are wise cannot be helpful to God.
3 Na tang mai tih na mueluemnah mai akhaw, na khoboe soep cakhaw tlungthang hamla naep aya?
If you were righteous, (would that benefit Almighty [God]?/that certainly would not benefit Almighty [God].) [RHQ] If you had (lived a perfect life/never done anything that is wrong), would that help him?
4 Na hinyahnah dongah nang te, laitloeknah neh n'khuen tih nang n'tluung a?
“Is it because you have an awesome respect for God that he punishes you? Is that the reason that he puts you on trial?
5 Na boethae tangkik pawt nim? Nang kah thaesainah te a bawtnah om pawh.
No, it certainly must be [RHQ] because you are extremely wicked. It must be that the evil things that you have done are so many that no one can count them!
6 Lunglilungla la na manuca na laikoi tih, pumtling kah himbai te na pit pah.
You must have lent money to others and wrongly forced them to give you things to guarantee that they would pay that money back to you; you must have taken all their clothes and left them with nothing to wear.
7 Buhmueh rhathih te tui na tul pawt tih, bungpong te buh na hloh pah.
You must not have given water to those who were thirsty, and you must have refused to give food to those who were hungry.
8 Bantha aka khueh hlang loh amah hamla khohmuen a khueh tih, a sokah khosa mikhmuh ah a dangrhoek.
Because you were very powerful, you [must have] taken over all the people’s land, and then, being very respected, you have begun to live on that land.
9 Nuhmai te kuttling la na tueih tih, cadah te a ban na phop pah.
[When] widows [came to you for help], you [must have] sent [them] away without giving them anything, and you must have oppressed orphans.
10 Na kaepvai kah pael dongah he khaw na birhihnah neh buengrhuet na let.
Because of all that, now there are pits around you for you to fall into, and suddenly there are things that terrify you and cause you to tremble.
11 A hmuep khaw na hmu pawt tih, tuili tui loh nang n'khuk.
[It is as though] it has become very dark, with the result that you cannot see anything, and [it is as though] [MET] a flood covers you.
12 Pathen tah vaan sang kah moenih a? So lah, aisi rhoek kah a lu tah pomsang uh te.
“[But consider this, Job]: God lives [RHQ] high up in the heavens. From there he [RHQ] looks down on the highest stars.
13 Te lalah, “Pathen te metlam a mingpha? Yinnah lamloh lai a tloek a?
So why do you say, ‘What does God know [about what we are doing]? [He is hidden from us by] dark clouds, so ([how] can he judge us?/he certainly cannot judge us.) [RHQ]’
14 Anih te khomai loh a huep tih tueng pawh. Te vaengah vaan kah kueluek dongah cet,” na ti.
[Do you think that] while he walks on the dome that covers the sky, there are thick clouds around him, with the result that he cannot see [what we do]?
15 Boethae hlang rhoek loh a cawt khosuen caehlong nim na ngaithuen salah?
Will you continue to conduct your life the old way that evil people have done [for many years]?
16 A tonga uh vaengah a tue pawt ah khaw tuiva loh amih kah khoengim te a hawt pah.
They suddenly died while they were still young; they disappeared [like everything disappears when there is] a flood [MET].
17 “Pathen te mamih taeng lamloh nong saeh, Tlungthang loh mamih taengah balae a saii eh?” a ti uh.
They kept saying to God, ‘Do not bother us,’ and they also said [defiantly], ‘Almighty [God] can do nothing [RHQ] to [harm] us!’
18 Amah loh amih im te hnothen a cung sak sitoe cakhaw halang kah cilsuep tah kai lamloh lakhla saeh.
But it was God who filled their houses with good things, so I cannot at all understand why wicked people think like they do.
19 Aka dueng rhoek loh a hmuh vaengah a kohoe uh tih ommongsitoe loh amih te a tamdaeng.
“But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad, and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.
20 Mamih kah thinnaeh a thup vetih amih kah a coih te hmai loh hlawp het pawt nim?
They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed, and all [their possessions] that were left have been burned in a fire.’
21 Amah neh hmaiben lamtah te nen te thuung laeh. Nang taengah hnothen ha pawk bitni.
“So, [Job, ] be reconciled to God and make peace with him; if you do that, good things will happen to you.
22 A ka lamkah olkhueng mah doe laeh, a ol te khaw na thinko khuiah khueh laeh.
Allow him to teach you, and keep thinking about what he has told you.
23 Tlungthang taengla na mael atah n'thoh bitni dumlai mah na dap lamloh lakhla sak.
If you humble yourself and return to God, if you stop doing all the evil things that you have been doing in your house,
24 Pasing te laipi bangla, Ophir te soklong kah lungpang bangla khueh ngawn.
if you throw away your gold, even the fine gold from the dry stream beds in Ophir [land],
25 Te vaengah na pasing te tlungthang la, cak te na ki la poeh bitni.
and if you allow Almighty [God] to be [as precious to you as] your gold and your silver [have been],
26 Te daengah ni Tlungthang dongah pang na dok vetih, Pathen taengla na maelhmai na dangrhoek eh.
you will be happy because of your close relationship with God, and you will be able to approach him [IDM] [confidently].
27 A taengah na thangthui vaengah, nang ol a yaak vetih na olcaeng khaw cung ni.
You will pray to him, and he will do what you request him to do; you will do the things that you promised him that you would do.
28 Olkhueh te na tuiphih vaengah, nang hamla thoo vetih, na longpuei ah vangnah loh a tue ni.
Everything that you decide to do will be successful; [it] will [be as though] a light [is] shining on the road in front of you.
29 A tlayae uh vaengah koevoeinah na thui dae, tlahoei mik ni a khang eh.
God humbles those who are proud, but he saves those who are downcast/discouraged.
30 Ommongsitoe pawt khaw loeih vetih na kut kah cimcaihnah loh a loeih sak ni,” a ti.
God rescues those who (are innocent/have not done things that are wrong), so he will rescue you if you (start doing things that are right/are not guilty [IDM] of doing things that are wrong).”
