Job 22
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
Then Eliphaz the Themanite responded by saying:
2 “Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him?
Can man be compared with God, even if he were perfect in knowledge?
3 Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless?
What advantage is it to God, if you were just? Or what do you provide for him, if your way should be immaculate?
4 Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you and enters into judgment against you?
Will he reprove you and take you to judgment for being afraid,
5 Is not your wickedness great? Are not your iniquities endless?
and not because of your many evil deeds and your infinite unfairness?
6 For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers and deprived the naked of their clothing.
For you have taken away the collateral of your brothers without cause, and stripped them naked of their clothing.
7 You gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the famished,
You have not given water to the weary; you have taken bread away from the hungry.
8 while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it.
By the strength of your arm, you took possession of the land, and you retain it by being the strongest.
9 You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
You have sent widows away empty, and you have crushed the shoulders of orphans.
10 Therefore snares surround you, and sudden peril terrifies you;
Because of this, you are surrounded by traps, and unexpected fears will disturb you.
11 it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.
And did you think that you would not see darkness and that you were not to be overwhelmed by the onrush of overflowing waters?
12 Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!
Have you not considered that God is higher than the heavens and is lifted above the height of the stars?
13 Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness?
And you say: “Well, what does God know?” and, “He judges, as if through a fog,”
14 Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’
and, “The clouds are his hiding-place,” and, “He does not examine us closely,” and, “He makes his rounds at the limits of the heavens.”
15 Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?
Do you not want to tend the path of the ages, which wicked men have spurned?
16 They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood.
These were taken away before their time, and a flood overthrew their foundation.
17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’
They said to God, “Withdraw from us,” and they treated the Almighty as if he could do nothing,
18 But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
though he had filled their houses with good things. May their way of thinking be far from me.
19 The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent mock them:
The just will see and will rejoice, and the innocent will mock them.
20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire has consumed their excess.’
Has not their haughtiness been cut down, and has not fire devoured the remnants of them?
21 Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you.
So, repose yourself with him and be at peace, and, in this way, you will have the best fruits.
22 Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.
Accept the law from his mouth, and place his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. If you remove injustice from your tents
If you will return to the Almighty, you will be rebuilt, and you will put sinfulness far from your tabernacle.
24 and consign your gold to the dust and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,
He will give you stone in place of dirt, and torrents of gold in place of stone.
25 then the Almighty will be your gold and the finest silver for you.
And the Almighty will be against your enemies, and silver will be gathered together for you.
26 Surely then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.
Then will you flock together in delight over the Almighty, and you will lift up your face to God.
27 You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.
You will plead with him, and he will listen to you, and you will pay your vows.
28 Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways.
You will decide on something, and it will come to you, and the light will shine in your ways.
29 When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then He will save the lowly.
For he who had been humbled, will be in glory; and he who will lower his eyes, will be the one saved.
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”
The innocent will be saved, and he will be saved with purity in his hands.
