Job 22
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 “Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him?
Can a man be profitable unto El, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?
3 Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless?
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect?
4 Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you and enters into judgment against you?
Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?
5 Is not your wickedness great? Are not your iniquities endless?
Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?
6 For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers and deprived the naked of their clothing.
For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the famished,
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
8 while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it.
But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
9 You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
Thou has sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10 Therefore snares surround you, and sudden peril terrifies you;
Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;
11 it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.
Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.
12 Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!
Is not Eloah in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
13 Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness?
And thou sayest, How doth El know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
14 Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’
Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.
15 Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?
Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
16 They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood.
Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’
Which said unto El, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
18 But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent mock them:
The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire has consumed their excess.’
Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.
21 Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you.
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.
22 Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.
Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. If you remove injustice from your tents
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
24 and consign your gold to the dust and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,
Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25 then the Almighty will be your gold and the finest silver for you.
Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
26 Surely then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.
For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto Eloah.
27 You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.
Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
28 Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways.
Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
29 When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then He will save the lowly.
When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”
He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
