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 be profitable to God, as he that is wise may be profitable to 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] 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 thy reverence, that he will accuse thee? will enter with thee into judgment?
Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?
5 Is not, thy wickedness, great? and, without end, [are not] thine iniquities?
[Is] not thy wickedness great? and thy iniquities infinite?
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 for naught, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 No water—to the weary, hast thou given to drink, and, from the hungry, thou hast withheld bread:
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withheld bread from the hungry.
8 A man of might, to him, pertaineth the land, and, the favorite, dwelleth therein:
But [as for] the mighty man, he had the earth; 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 the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10 For this cause, round about thee, are snares, and a dread startleth thee suddenly;
Therefore snares [are] around thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;
11 Or darkness—thou canst not see, and, a flood of waters, covereth thee.
Or darkness, [that] thou canst not see; and abundance of waters 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 hight of heaven? and behold the hight of the stars, how high they are!
13 Wilt thou say then, What doth GOD know? Out through a thick cloud, can he judge?
And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
14 Dark clouds, are a veil to him, and he cannot see, or, the vault of the heavens, doth he walk?
Thick clouds [are] a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.
15 The path of the ancient time, wilt thou mark, which the men of iniquity trod?
Hast thou marked 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 out of time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood!
17 Who had been saying unto GOD, Depart from us! and—What can the Almighty do for himself?
Who said to God, depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them!
18 Yet, he, had filled their houses with good! The counsel of the lawless, then, is far from me:
Yet he filled their houses with good [things]: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 The righteous shall see and rejoice, and, the innocent, shall laugh them to scorn:
The righteous see [it], and are glad: and the innocent deride them.
20 If our assailants do not vanish, then, their abundance, a fire consumeth!
Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.
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: by this good shall come to thee.
22 Accept, I beseech thee, from his mouth—instruction, —and lay up his sayings in thy heart.
Receive, I pray thee, the law 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 shalt return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
24 Then lay up, in the dust, precious ore, and, among the stones of the torrent-beds, fine gold:
Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the [gold] of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25 So shall, the Almighty, become, thy precious ores, yea glittering silver unto thee!
Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
26 For, then, in the Almighty, shalt thou take exquisite delight, and shalt lift up—unto GOD—thy face;
For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face to God.
27 Thou shalt make entreaty unto him, and he will hear thee, and, thy vows, shalt thou pay;
Thou shalt make thy prayer to him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay 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;
Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established to thee: and the 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, then thou shalt say, [There is] exaltation; and he shall save the humble person.
30 He shall deliver the innocent, and thou shalt escape by the pureness of thy hands.
He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thy hands.
