Job 22
1 Then Eliphaz replied,
Then Eliphaz the Thaemanite answered and said,
2 “(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.
Is it not the Lord that teaches understanding and knowledge?
3 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?
For what matters it to the Lord, if thou wert blameless in [thy] works? or is it profitable that thou shouldest perfect thy way?
4 “Is it because you have an awesome respect for God that he punishes you? Is that the reason that he puts you on trial?
Wilt thou maintain and plead thine own cause? and will he enter into judgment with thee?
5 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!
Is not thy wickedness abundant, and thy sins innumerable?
6 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.
And thou hast taken security of thy brethren for nothing, and hast taken away the clothing of the naked.
7 You must not have given water to those who were thirsty, and you must have refused to give food to those who were hungry.
Neither hast thou given water to the thirsty to drink, but hast taken away the morsel of the hungry.
8 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.
And thou hast accepted the persons of some; and thou hast established those [that were already settled] on the earth.
9 [When] widows [came to you for help], you [must have] sent [them] away without giving them anything, and you must have oppressed orphans.
But thou hast sent widows away empty, and has afflicted orphans.
10 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.
Therefore snares have compassed thee, and disastrous war has troubled thee.
11 [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.
The light has proved darkness to thee, and water has covered thee on thy lying down.
12 “[But consider this, Job]: God lives [RHQ] high up in the heavens. From there he [RHQ] looks down on the highest stars.
Does not he that dwells in the high places observe? and has he not brought down the proud?
13 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]’
And thou has said, What does the Mighty One know? does he judge in the dark?
14 [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]?
A cloud is his hiding-place, and he shall not be seen; and he passes through the circle of heaven.
15 Will you continue to conduct your life the old way that evil people have done [for many years]?
Wilt thou [not] mark the old way, which righteous men have trodden?
16 They suddenly died while they were still young; they disappeared [like everything disappears when there is] a flood [MET].
who were seized before their time: their foundations [are as] an overflowing stream.
17 They kept saying to God, ‘Do not bother us,’ and they also said [defiantly], ‘Almighty [God] can do nothing [RHQ] to [harm] us!’
Who say, What will the Lord do to us? or what will the Almighty bring upon us?
18 But it was God who filled their houses with good things, so I cannot at all understand why wicked people think like they do.
Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel for the wicked is far from him.
19 “But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad, and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.
The righteous have seen [it], and laughed, and the blameless one has derided [them].
20 They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed, and all [their possessions] that were left have been burned in a fire.’
Verily their substance has been utterly destroyed, and the fire shall devour what is left of their [property].
21 “So, [Job, ] be reconciled to God and make peace with him; if you do that, good things will happen to you.
Be firm, I pray thee, if thou canst endure; then thy fruit shall prosper.
22 Allow him to teach you, and keep thinking about what he has told you.
And receive a declaration from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
23 If you humble yourself and return to God, if you stop doing all the evil things that you have been doing in your house,
And if thou shalt turn and humble thyself before the Lord, thou hast [thus] removed unrighteousness far from thy habitation.
24 if you throw away your gold, even the fine gold from the dry stream beds in Ophir [land],
Thou shalt lay up for thyself [treasure] in a heap on the rock; and Sophir [shall be] as the rock of the torrent.
25 and if you allow Almighty [God] to be [as precious to you as] your gold and your silver [have been],
So the Almighty shall be thy helper from enemies, and he shall bring thee forth pure as silver that has been tried by fire.
26 you will be happy because of your close relationship with God, and you will be able to approach him [IDM] [confidently].
Then shalt thou have boldness before the Lord, looking up cheerfully to heaven.
27 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.
And he shall hear thee when thou prayest to him, and he shall grant thee [power] to pay thy vows.
28 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.
And he shall establish to thee again a habitation of righteousness and there shall be light upon thy paths.
29 God humbles those who are proud, but he saves those who are downcast/discouraged.
Because thou hast humbled thyself; and thou shalt say, [Man] has behaved proudly, but he shall save him that is of lowly eyes.
30 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).”
He shall deliver the innocent, and do thou save thyself by thy pure hands.
