Job 22
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answereth and saith: —
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 To God is a man profitable, Because a wise man to himself is profitable?
Can a man, then, profit God? Behold, the wise man profiteth himself.
3 Is it a delight to the Mighty One That thou art righteous? is it gain, That thou makest perfect thy ways?
Is it a pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous; Or a gain to him, that thou walkest uprightly?
4 Because of thy reverence Doth He reason [with] thee? He entereth 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 abundant? And there is no end to thine iniquities.
Hath not thy wickedness been great? Have not thine iniquities been numberless?
6 For thou takest a pledge of thy brother for nought, And the garments of the naked Thou dost strip off.
For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother unjustly, And stripped the poor of their clothing.
7 Thou causest not the weary to drink water, And from the hungry thou withholdest bread.
Thou hast given the weary no water to drink, And withholden bread from the hungry.
8 As to the man of arm — he hath the earth, And the accepted of face — he dwelleth in it.
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 are bruised.
Thou hast sent widows away empty, And broken the arms of the fatherless.
10 Therefore round about thee [are] snares, And trouble thee doth fear suddenly.
Therefore snares are round about thee, And sudden fear confoundeth thee;
11 Or darkness — thou dost not see, And abundance of waters doth cover thee.
Or darkness, through which thou canst not see, And floods of water cover thee.
12 Is not God high [in] heaven? And see the summit of the stars, That they are high.
Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the stars, how high they are!
13 And thou hast said, 'What — hath God known? Through thickness doth He judge?
Hence thou sayest, “What doth God know? Can he govern behind the thick darkness?
14 Thick clouds [are] a secret place to Him, And He doth not see;' And the circle of the heavens He walketh habitually,
Dark clouds are a veil to him, and he cannot see; And he walketh upon the arch of heaven.”
15 The path of the age dost thou observe, That men of iniquity have trodden?
Wilt thou take the old way Which wicked men have trodden,
16 Who have been cut down unexpectedly, A flood is poured out on their foundation.
Who were cut down before their time, And whose foundations were swept away by a flood?
17 Those saying to God, 'Turn aside from us,' And what doth the Mighty One to them?
Who said unto God, “Depart from us!” And, “What can the Almighty do to us?”
18 And he hath filled their houses [with] good: (And the counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)
And yet he filled their houses with good things!—Far from me be the counsel of the wicked!
19 See do the righteous and they rejoice, And the innocent mocketh at them,
The righteous see their fate, and rejoice; And the innocent hold them in derision.
20 'Surely our substance hath not been cut off, And their excellency hath fire consumed.'
“Truly our adversary is destroyed, And fire hath consumed his abundance!”
21 Acquaint thyself, I pray thee, with Him, And be at peace, Thereby thine increase [is] good.
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: Thus shall prosperity return to thee.
22 Receive, I pray thee, from His mouth a law, And set His sayings in thy heart.
Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, And lay up his words in thy heart.
23 If thou dost return unto the Mighty Thou art built up, Thou puttest iniquity far from thy tents.
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up; If thou put away iniquity from thy tent.
24 So as to set on the dust a defence, And on a rock of the valleys a covering.
Cast to the dust thy gold, And the gold of Ophir to the stones of the brook:
25 And the Mighty hath been thy defence, And silver [is] strength to thee.
Then shall the Almighty be thy gold, Yea, treasures of silver unto thee;
26 For then on the Mighty thou delightest thyself, And dost 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 dost make supplication unto Him, And He doth hear thee, And thy vows thou completest.
Thou shalt pray to him, and he shall hear thee, And thou shalt perform thy vows.
28 And thou decreest a saying, And it is established to thee, And on thy ways hath light shone.
The purpose which thou formest shall prosper with thee, And light shall shine upon thy ways.
29 For they have made low, And thou sayest, 'Lift up.' And the bowed down of eyes he saveth.
When men are cast down, thou shalt say, “There lifting up!” And the humble person he will save.
30 He delivereth the not innocent, Yea, he hath been delivered By the cleanness of thy hands.
He will deliver even him that is not innocent. The purity of thy hands shall save him.
