Job 22
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
Then Eliphaz the Themanite answered, and said:
2 Can a man be profitable to God? surely it is unto himself that the wise man is profitable.
Can man be compared with God, even though he were of perfect knowledge?
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if thou art righteous? And is it gain [to him] that thou makest thy ways perfect?
What doth it profit God if thou be just? or what dost thou give him if thy way be unspotted?
4 Will he reason with thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment?
Shall he reprove thee for fear, and come with thee into judgment:
5 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities without end?
And not for thy manifold wickedness, and thy infinite iniquities?
6 For thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped off the clothing of the naked.
For thou hast taken away the pledge of thy brethren without cause, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 Thou hast not given water to the fainting to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
Thou hast not given water to the weary, thou hast withdrawn bread from the hungry.
8 But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it.
In the strength of thy arm thou didst possess the land, and being the most mighty thou holdest it.
9 Widows hast thou sent empty away, 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 troubleth thee;
Therefore art thou surrounded with snares, and sudden fear troubleth thee.
11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see, and floods 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 the heavens? And behold the summit of the stars: how exalted are they!
Dost not thou think that God is higher than heaven, and is elevated above the height of the stars?
13 And thou sayest, What doth God know? will he judge through the dark cloud?
And thou sayst: What doth God know? and he judgeth as it were through a mist.
14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh on the vault of the heavens.
The clouds are his covert, and he doth not consider our things, and he walketh about the poles of heaven.
15 Dost thou mark the ancient path which wicked men have trodden?
Dost thou desire to keep the path of ages, which wicked men have trodden?
16 Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood;
Who were taken away before their time, and a flood hath overthrown their foundation.
17 Who said unto God, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do to them?
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. 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 Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue?
Is not their exaltation cut down, and hath not fire devoured the remnants of them?
21 Reconcile thyself now with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.
Submit thyself then to him, and be at peace: and thereby thou shalt have the best fruits.
22 Receive, I pray thee, instruction 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 shalt be built up. If thou remove 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 And put the precious ore with the dust, and [the gold of] Ophir among the stones of the torrents,
He shall give for earth flint, and for flint torrents of gold.
25 Then the Almighty will be thy precious ore, and silver heaped up unto thee;
And the Almighty shall be against thy enemies, and silver shall be heaped together for thee.
26 Yea, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God:
Then shalt thou abound in delights in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face to God.
27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows;
Thou shalt pray to him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay vows.
28 And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto 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 are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes.
For he that hath been humbled, shall be in glory: and he that shall bow down his eyes, he shall be saved.
30 [Even] him that is not innocent shall he deliver; yea, he shall be delivered by the pureness of thy hands.
The innocent shall be saved, and he shall be saved by the cleanness of his hands.
