Job 22

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, and said,

Then Eliphaz the Themanite answered, and said:

2 Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.

Can man be compared with God, even though he were of perfect knowledge?

3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that thou are righteous? Or is it gain to him that thou make thy ways perfect?

What doth it profit God if thou be just? or what dost thou give him if thy way be unspotted?

4 Is it for thy fear of him that he reproves thee, that he enters with thee into judgment?

Shall he reprove thee for fear, and come with thee into judgment:

5 Is not thy wickedness great? Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.

And not for thy manifold wickedness, and thy infinite iniquities?

6 For thou have taken pledges from thy brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

For thou hast taken away the pledge of thy brethren without cause, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

7 Thou have not given water to the weary to drink, and thou have withheld bread from the hungry.

Thou hast not given water to the weary, thou hast withdrawn bread from the hungry.

8 But as for the mighty man, he had the land. And the honorable man, he dwelt in it.

In the strength of thy arm thou didst possess the land, and being the most mighty thou holdest it.

9 Thou have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless thou hast broken in pieces.

10 Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubles thee,

Therefore art thou surrounded with snares, and sudden fear troubleth thee.

11 or darkness, so that thou cannot see, and abundance of waters cover thee.

And didst thou think that thou shouldst not see darkness, and that thou shouldst not be covered with the violence of overflowing waters?

12 Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

Dost not thou think that God is higher than heaven, and is elevated above the height of the stars?

13 And thou say, What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?

And thou sayst: What doth God know? and he judgeth as it were through a mist.

14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he does not see, and he walks on the vault of heaven.

The clouds are his covert, and he doth not consider our things, and he walketh about the poles of heaven.

15 Will thou keep the old way which wicked men have trodden?

Dost thou desire to keep the path of ages, which wicked men have trodden?

16 Who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a stream,

Who were taken away before their time, and a flood hath overthrown their foundation.

17 who said to God, Depart from us, and, What can the Almighty do for us?

Who said to God: Depart from us: and looked upon the Almighty as if he could do nothing:

18 Yet he filled their houses with good things. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

Whereas he had filled their houses with good things: whose way of thinking be far from me.

19 The righteous see it, and are glad. And the innocent laugh them to scorn,

The just shall see, and shall rejoice, and the innocent shall laugh them to scorn.

20 Saying, Surely those who rose up against us are cut off, and the remnant of them, the fire has consumed.

Is not their exaltation cut down, and hath not fire devoured the remnants of them?

21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace. By this good shall come to thee.

Submit thyself then to him, and be at peace: and thereby thou shalt have the best fruits.

22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.

Receive the law of his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.

23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shall be built up, thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.

If thou wilt return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, and shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle.

24 Then thou shall lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

He shall give for earth flint, and for flint torrents of gold.

25 Yea, the Almighty will be thy treasure, and precious silver to thee.

And the Almighty shall be against thy enemies, and silver shall be heaped together for thee.

26 For then shall thou delight thyself in the Almighty, and shall lift up thy face to God.

Then shalt thou abound in delights in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face to God.

27 Thou shall make thy prayer to him, and he will hear thee, and thou shall pay thy vows.

Thou shalt pray to him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay vows.

28 Thou shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to thee. And light shall shine upon thy ways.

Thou shalt decree a thing, and it I shall come to thee, and light shall shine in thy ways.

29 When they cast thee down, thou shall say, There is lifting up, and he will save the humble man.

For he that hath been humbled, shall be in glory: and he that shall bow down his eyes, he shall be saved.

30 He will deliver even him who is not innocent. Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.

The innocent shall be saved, and he shall be saved by the cleanness of his hands.