Job 22
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answers and says:
Then Eliphaz replied,
2 “Is a man profitable to God, Because a wise man is profitable to himself?
“(Can anyone be useful to God?/Certainly no one can be useful to God.) [RHQ] Even people who are wise cannot be helpful to God.
3 Is it a delight to the Mighty One That you are righteous? Is it gain, That you make your ways perfect?
If you were righteous, (would that benefit Almighty [God]?/that certainly would not benefit Almighty [God].) [RHQ] If you had (lived a perfect life/never done anything that is wrong), would that help him?
4 Because of your reverence Does He reason [with] you? He enters with you into judgment:
“Is it because you have an awesome respect for God that he punishes you? Is that the reason that he puts you on trial?
5 Is your wickedness not abundant? And there is no end to your iniquities.
No, it certainly must be [RHQ] because you are extremely wicked. It must be that the evil things that you have done are so many that no one can count them!
6 For you take a pledge of your brother for nothing, And you strip off the garments of the naked.
You must have lent money to others and wrongly forced them to give you things to guarantee that they would pay that money back to you; you must have taken all their clothes and left them with nothing to wear.
7 You do not cause the weary to drink water, And you withhold bread from the hungry.
You must not have given water to those who were thirsty, and you must have refused to give food to those who were hungry.
8 As for the man of arm—he has the earth, And the accepted of face—he dwells in it.
Because you were very powerful, you [must have] taken over all the people’s land, and then, being very respected, you have begun to live on that land.
9 You have sent widows away empty, And the arms of the fatherless are bruised.
[When] widows [came to you for help], you [must have] sent [them] away without giving them anything, and you must have oppressed orphans.
10 Therefore snares [are] all around you, And sudden fear troubles you.
Because of all that, now there are pits around you for you to fall into, and suddenly there are things that terrify you and cause you to tremble.
11 Or darkness—you do not see, And abundance of waters covers you.
[It is as though] it has become very dark, with the result that you cannot see anything, and [it is as though] [MET] a flood covers you.
12 Is God not high [in] the heavens? And see the summit of the stars, That they are high.
“[But consider this, Job]: God lives [RHQ] high up in the heavens. From there he [RHQ] looks down on the highest stars.
13 And you have said, How has God known? Does He judge through thickness?
So why do you say, ‘What does God know [about what we are doing]? [He is hidden from us by] dark clouds, so ([how] can he judge us?/he certainly cannot judge us.) [RHQ]’
14 Thick clouds [are] a secret place to Him, And He does not see, And He habitually walks [above] the circle of the heavens.
[Do you think that] while he walks on the dome that covers the sky, there are thick clouds around him, with the result that he cannot see [what we do]?
15 Do you observe the path of the age, That men of iniquity have trodden,
Will you continue to conduct your life the old way that evil people have done [for many years]?
16 Who have been cut down unexpectedly? A flood is poured out on their foundation.
They suddenly died while they were still young; they disappeared [like everything disappears when there is] a flood [MET].
17 Those saying to God, Turn aside from us, And what does the Mighty One do to them?
They kept saying to God, ‘Do not bother us,’ and they also said [defiantly], ‘Almighty [God] can do nothing [RHQ] to [harm] us!’
18 And He has filled their houses [with] good (And the counsel of the wicked Has been far from me).
But it was God who filled their houses with good things, so I cannot at all understand why wicked people think like they do.
19 The righteous see and they rejoice, And the innocent mocks at them:
“But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad, and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.
20 Surely our substance has not been cut off, And fire has consumed their excellence.
They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed, and all [their possessions] that were left have been burned in a fire.’
21 Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace, Thereby your increase [is] good.
“So, [Job, ] be reconciled to God and make peace with him; if you do that, good things will happen to you.
22 Please receive a law from His mouth, And set His sayings in your heart.
Allow him to teach you, and keep thinking about what he has told you.
23 If you return to the Mighty you are built up, You put iniquity far from your tents.
If you humble yourself and return to God, if you stop doing all the evil things that you have been doing in your house,
24 So as to set a defense on the dust, And a covering on a rock of the valleys.
if you throw away your gold, even the fine gold from the dry stream beds in Ophir [land],
25 And the Mighty has been your defense, And silver [is] strength to you.
and if you allow Almighty [God] to be [as precious to you as] your gold and your silver [have been],
26 For then you delight yourself on the Mighty, And lift up your face to God,
you will be happy because of your close relationship with God, and you will be able to approach him [IDM] [confidently].
27 You make supplication to Him, And He hears you, And you complete your vows.
You will pray to him, and he will do what you request him to do; you will do the things that you promised him that you would do.
28 And you decree a saying, And it is established to you, And light has shone on your ways.
Everything that you decide to do will be successful; [it] will [be as though] a light [is] shining on the road in front of you.
29 For they have made low, And you say, Lift up. And He saves the bowed down of eyes.
God humbles those who are proud, but he saves those who are downcast/discouraged.
30 He delivers the one [who is] not innocent, Indeed, he has been delivered By the cleanness of your hands.”
God rescues those who (are innocent/have not done things that are wrong), so he will rescue you if you (start doing things that are right/are not guilty [IDM] of doing things that are wrong).”
