Job 22
1 Then Eliphaz replied,
Allora Elifaz di Teman rispose e disse:
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.
“Può l’uomo recar qualche vantaggio a Dio? No; il savio non reca vantaggio che a sé stesso.
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?
Se sei giusto, ne vien forse qualche diletto all’Onnipotente? Se sei integro nella tua condotta, ne ritrae egli un guadagno?
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?
E’ forse per la paura che ha di te ch’egli ti castiga o vien teco in giudizio?
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!
La tua malvagità non è essa grande e le tue iniquità non sono esse infinite?
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.
Tu, per un nulla, prendevi pegno da’ tuoi fratelli, spogliavi delle lor vesti i mezzo ignudi.
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.
Allo stanco non davi a bere dell’acqua, all’affamato rifiutavi del pane.
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.
La terra apparteneva al più forte, e l’uomo influente vi piantava la sua dimora.
9 [When] widows [came to you for help], you [must have] sent [them] away without giving them anything, and you must have oppressed orphans.
Rimandavi a vuoto le vedove, e le braccia degli orfani eran spezzate.
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.
Ecco perché sei circondato di lacci, e spaventato da sùbiti terrori.
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.
O non vedi le tenebre che t’avvolgono e la piena d’acque che ti sommerge?
12 “[But consider this, Job]: God lives [RHQ] high up in the heavens. From there he [RHQ] looks down on the highest stars.
Iddio non è egli lassù ne’ cieli? Guarda lassù le stelle eccelse, come stanno in alto!
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]’
E tu dici: “Iddio che sa? Può egli giudicare attraverso il buio?
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]?
Fitte nubi lo coprono e nulla vede; egli passeggia sulla vòlta de’ cieli”.
15 Will you continue to conduct your life the old way that evil people have done [for many years]?
Vuoi tu dunque seguir l’antica via per cui camminarono gli uomini iniqui,
16 They suddenly died while they were still young; they disappeared [like everything disappears when there is] a flood [MET].
che furon portati via prima del tempo, e il cui fondamento fu come un torrente che scorre?
17 They kept saying to God, ‘Do not bother us,’ and they also said [defiantly], ‘Almighty [God] can do nothing [RHQ] to [harm] us!’
Essi dicevano a Dio: “Ritirati da noi!” e chiedevano che mai potesse far per loro l’Onnipotente.
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.
Eppure Iddio avea riempito le loro case di beni! Ah lungi da me il consiglio degli empi!
19 “But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad, and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.
I giusti, vedendo la loro ruina, ne gioiscono e l’innocente si fa beffe di loro:
20 They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed, and all [their possessions] that were left have been burned in a fire.’
“Vedete se non son distrutti gli avversari nostri! la loro abbondanza l’ha divorata il fuoco!”
21 “So, [Job, ] be reconciled to God and make peace with him; if you do that, good things will happen to you.
Riconciliati dunque con Dio; avrai pace, e ti sarà resa la prosperità.
22 Allow him to teach you, and keep thinking about what he has told you.
Ricevi istruzioni dalla sua bocca, e riponi le sue parole nel tuo cuore.
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,
Se torni all’Onnipotente, se allontani l’iniquità dalle tue tende, sarai ristabilito.
24 if you throw away your gold, even the fine gold from the dry stream beds in Ophir [land],
Getta l’oro nella polvere e l’oro d’Ophir tra i ciottoli del fiume
25 and if you allow Almighty [God] to be [as precious to you as] your gold and your silver [have been],
e l’Onnipotente sarà il tuo oro, egli ti sarà come l’argento acquistato con fatica.
26 you will be happy because of your close relationship with God, and you will be able to approach him [IDM] [confidently].
Allora farai dell’Onnipotente la tua delizia, e alzerai la faccia verso Dio.
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.
Lo pregherai, egli t’esaudirà, e tu scioglierai i voti che avrai fatto.
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.
Quello che imprenderai, ti riuscirà; sul tuo cammino risplenderà la luce.
29 God humbles those who are proud, but he saves those who are downcast/discouraged.
Se ti abbassano, tu dirai: “In alto!” e Dio soccorrerà chi ha gli occhi a terra;
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).”
libererà anche chi non è innocente, ei sarà salvo per la purità delle tue mani”.
