Job 22
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded and said,
Then responded Eliphaz the Temanite, and said: —
2 “How can anyone be of help to God? Even wise people are only helpful to themselves.
Unto GOD, can a man act as friend? Surely a discreet man befriendeth himself!
3 Is it any benefit to the Almighty if you're a good person? What does he gain if you do what's right?
Is it a pleasure to the Almighty, that thou shouldst be righteous? or any profit, that thou shouldst be blameless in thy ways?
4 Does he correct you and bring charges against you because of your reverence?
Is it, for thy reverence, that he will accuse thee? will enter with thee into judgment?
5 No: it's because you're so wicked! Your sins are never-ending!
Is not, thy wickedness, great? and, without end, [are not] thine iniquities?
6 For no reason at all you took your brother's clothing as a security for a debt, and left them stripped naked.
Surely then hast been wont to put thy brother in pledge, for nothing, and, the garments of the ill-clad, hast thou stripped off:
7 You refused water to the thirsty; you denied food to the hungry.
No water—to the weary, hast thou given to drink, and, from the hungry, thou hast withheld bread:
8 Is it because the land belongs to the powerful, and only the privileged have a right to live there?
A man of might, to him, pertaineth the land, and, the favorite, dwelleth therein:
9 You have sent widows away empty-handed; you have crushed the outstretched arms of orphans, begging for help.
Widows, thou hast sent away empty, and, the arms of the fatherless, thou dost crush.
10 That's why you're surrounded by traps to catch you, and why you suddenly panic in terror.
For this cause, round about thee, are snares, and a dread startleth thee suddenly;
11 That's why it's so dark you cannot see, and why you feel like you're drowning.
Or darkness—thou canst not see, and, a flood of waters, covereth thee.
12 Doesn't God live in highest heaven and looks down on even the highest stars?
Is not, GOD, [in] the height of the heavens? Behold, then, the head of the stars, that they are high.
13 But you ask, ‘What does God know? How can he see and judge what happens in down here in darkness?
Wilt thou say then, What doth GOD know? Out through a thick cloud, can he judge?
14 Thick clouds cover him so he can't see anything as he walks around in heaven.’
Dark clouds, are a veil to him, and he cannot see, or, the vault of the heavens, doth he walk?
15 Why do you insist on following the traditional thinking of the wicked?
The path of the ancient time, wilt thou mark, which the men of iniquity trod?
16 They were taken before their time; all they had built was washed away.
Who were snatched away before the time, and, a stream, washed away their foundation?
17 They had told God, ‘Get lost! What can the Almighty do to us?’
Who had been saying unto GOD, Depart from us! and—What can the Almighty do for himself?
18 And yet he was the one who had filled their homes with good things—but I don't accept their way of thinking.
Yet, he, had filled their houses with good! The counsel of the lawless, then, is far from me:
19 Those who do right rejoice when they see the destruction of the wicked, and the innocent mock them,
The righteous shall see and rejoice, and, the innocent, shall laugh them to scorn:
20 saying, ‘Our enemies are destroyed, and fire has burned up all that's left of them.’
If our assailants do not vanish, then, their abundance, a fire consumeth!
21 Come back to God and be reconciled to him, and you'll be prosperous again.
Shew thyself to be one with him—I pray thee—and prosper, thereby, shall there come on thee blessing.
22 Listen to what he tells you and keep his words in mind.
Accept, I beseech thee, from his mouth—instruction, —and lay up his sayings in thy heart.
23 If you return to God you will be restored. If you renounce your sinful life
If thou return unto the Almighty and submit thyself, if thou far remove perversity from thy tent,
24 and give up your love of money and desire for possessions,
Then lay up, in the dust, precious ore, and, among the stones of the torrent-beds, fine gold:
25 then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver.
So shall, the Almighty, become, thy precious ores, yea glittering silver unto thee!
26 Then you will find delight in the Almighty, and be able to face him without feeling ashamed.
For, then, in the Almighty, shalt thou take exquisite delight, and shalt lift up—unto GOD—thy face;
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will keep your promises to him.
Thou shalt make entreaty unto him, and he will hear thee, and, thy vows, shalt thou pay;
28 Whatever you decide to do will be successful, and wherever you go, light will shine on you.
And thou shalt decree a purpose, and it shall be fulfilled unto thee, and, upon thy ways, shall have shone a light;
29 When others are humbled, and you say, ‘please help them,’ God will save them.
When men cast themselves down, then thou shalt say: Up! And, him that is of downcast eyes, shall he save;
30 God saves those who are innocent, and you will be saved if you do what is right.”
He shall deliver the innocent, and thou shalt escape by the pureness of thy hands.
