Job 22
1 Then responded Eliphaz the Temanite, and said: —
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 Unto GOD, can a man act as friend? Surely a discreet man befriendeth himself!
Can a man, then, profit God? Behold, the wise man profiteth himself.
3 Is it a pleasure to the Almighty, that thou shouldst be righteous? or any profit, that thou shouldst be blameless in thy ways?
Is it a pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous; Or a gain to him, that thou walkest uprightly?
4 Is it, for thy reverence, that he will accuse thee? will enter with thee into judgment?
Will he contend with thee because he feareth thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment?
5 Is not, thy wickedness, great? and, without end, [are not] thine iniquities?
Hath not thy wickedness been great? Have not thine iniquities been numberless?
6 Surely then hast been wont to put thy brother in pledge, for nothing, and, the garments of the ill-clad, hast thou stripped off:
For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother unjustly, And stripped the poor of their clothing.
7 No water—to the weary, hast thou given to drink, and, from the hungry, thou hast withheld bread:
Thou hast given the weary no water to drink, And withholden bread from the hungry.
8 A man of might, to him, pertaineth the land, and, the favorite, dwelleth therein:
But the man of power, his was the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it.
9 Widows, thou hast sent away empty, and, the arms of the fatherless, thou dost crush.
Thou hast sent widows away empty, And broken the arms of the fatherless.
10 For this cause, round about thee, are snares, and a dread startleth thee suddenly;
Therefore snares are round about thee, And sudden fear confoundeth thee;
11 Or darkness—thou canst not see, and, a flood of waters, covereth thee.
Or darkness, through which thou canst not see, And floods of water cover thee.
12 Is not, GOD, [in] the height of the heavens? Behold, then, the head of the stars, that they are high.
Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the stars, how high they are!
13 Wilt thou say then, What doth GOD know? Out through a thick cloud, can he judge?
Hence thou sayest, “What doth God know? Can he govern behind the thick darkness?
14 Dark clouds, are a veil to him, and he cannot see, or, the vault of the heavens, doth he walk?
Dark clouds are a veil to him, and he cannot see; And he walketh upon the arch of heaven.”
15 The path of the ancient time, wilt thou mark, which the men of iniquity trod?
Wilt thou take the old way Which wicked men have trodden,
16 Who were snatched away before the time, and, a stream, washed away their foundation?
Who were cut down before their time, And whose foundations were swept away by a flood?
17 Who had been saying unto GOD, Depart from us! and—What can the Almighty do for himself?
Who said unto God, “Depart from us!” And, “What can the Almighty do to us?”
18 Yet, he, had filled their houses with good! The counsel of the lawless, then, is far from me:
And yet he filled their houses with good things!—Far from me be the counsel of the wicked!
19 The righteous shall see and rejoice, and, the innocent, shall laugh them to scorn:
The righteous see their fate, and rejoice; And the innocent hold them in derision.
20 If our assailants do not vanish, then, their abundance, a fire consumeth!
“Truly our adversary is destroyed, And fire hath consumed his abundance!”
21 Shew thyself to be one with him—I pray thee—and prosper, thereby, shall there come on thee blessing.
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: Thus shall prosperity return to thee.
22 Accept, I beseech thee, from his mouth—instruction, —and lay up his sayings in thy heart.
Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, And lay up his words in thy heart.
23 If thou return unto the Almighty and submit thyself, if thou far remove perversity from thy tent,
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up; If thou put away iniquity from thy tent.
24 Then lay up, in the dust, precious ore, and, among the stones of the torrent-beds, fine gold:
Cast to the dust thy gold, And the gold of Ophir to the stones of the brook:
25 So shall, the Almighty, become, thy precious ores, yea glittering silver unto thee!
Then shall the Almighty be thy gold, Yea, treasures of silver unto thee;
26 For, then, in the Almighty, shalt thou take exquisite delight, and shalt lift up—unto GOD—thy face;
For then shalt thou have delight in the Almighty, And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
27 Thou shalt make entreaty unto him, and he will hear thee, and, thy vows, shalt thou pay;
Thou shalt pray to him, and he shall hear thee, And thou shalt perform thy vows.
28 And thou shalt decree a purpose, and it shall be fulfilled unto thee, and, upon thy ways, shall have shone a light;
The purpose which thou formest shall prosper with thee, And light shall shine upon thy ways.
29 When men cast themselves down, then thou shalt say: Up! And, him that is of downcast eyes, shall he save;
When men are cast down, thou shalt say, “There lifting up!” And the humble person he will save.
30 He shall deliver the innocent, and thou shalt escape by the pureness of thy hands.
He will deliver even him that is not innocent. The purity of thy hands shall save him.
