Job 22
1 And Eliphaz the Temanite answereth and saith: —
Then Eliphaz replied,
2 To God is a man profitable, Because a wise man to himself is profitable?
“(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.
3 Is it a delight to the Mighty One That thou art righteous? is it gain, That thou makest perfect thy ways?
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?
4 Because of thy reverence Doth He reason [with] thee? He entereth with thee into judgment:
“Is it because you have an awesome respect for God that he punishes you? Is that the reason that he puts you on trial?
5 Is not thy wickedness abundant? And there is no end to thine iniquities.
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!
6 For thou takest a pledge of thy brother for nought, And the garments of the naked Thou dost strip off.
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.
7 Thou causest not the weary to drink water, And from the hungry thou withholdest bread.
You must not have given water to those who were thirsty, and you must have refused to give food to those who were hungry.
8 As to the man of arm — he hath the earth, And the accepted of face — he dwelleth in it.
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.
9 Widows thou hast sent away empty, And the arms of the fatherless are bruised.
[When] widows [came to you for help], you [must have] sent [them] away without giving them anything, and you must have oppressed orphans.
10 Therefore round about thee [are] snares, And trouble thee doth fear suddenly.
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.
11 Or darkness — thou dost not see, And abundance of waters doth cover thee.
[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.
12 Is not God high [in] heaven? And see the summit of the stars, That they are high.
“[But consider this, Job]: God lives [RHQ] high up in the heavens. From there he [RHQ] looks down on the highest stars.
13 And thou hast said, 'What — hath God known? Through thickness doth He judge?
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]’
14 Thick clouds [are] a secret place to Him, And He doth not see;' And the circle of the heavens He walketh habitually,
[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]?
15 The path of the age dost thou observe, That men of iniquity have trodden?
Will you continue to conduct your life the old way that evil people have done [for many years]?
16 Who have been cut down unexpectedly, A flood is poured out on their foundation.
They suddenly died while they were still young; they disappeared [like everything disappears when there is] a flood [MET].
17 Those saying to God, 'Turn aside from us,' And what doth the Mighty One to them?
They kept saying to God, ‘Do not bother us,’ and they also said [defiantly], ‘Almighty [God] can do nothing [RHQ] to [harm] us!’
18 And he hath filled their houses [with] good: (And the counsel of the wicked Hath been far from me.)
But it was God who filled their houses with good things, so I cannot at all understand why wicked people think like they do.
19 See do the righteous and they rejoice, And the innocent mocketh at them,
“But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad, and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.
20 'Surely our substance hath not been cut off, And their excellency hath fire consumed.'
They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed, and all [their possessions] that were left have been burned in a fire.’
21 Acquaint thyself, I pray thee, with Him, And be at peace, Thereby thine increase [is] good.
“So, [Job, ] be reconciled to God and make peace with him; if you do that, good things will happen to you.
22 Receive, I pray thee, from His mouth a law, And set His sayings in thy heart.
Allow him to teach you, and keep thinking about what he has told you.
23 If thou dost return unto the Mighty Thou art built up, Thou puttest iniquity far from thy tents.
If you humble yourself and return to God, if you stop doing all the evil things that you have been doing in your house,
24 So as to set on the dust a defence, And on a rock of the valleys a covering.
if you throw away your gold, even the fine gold from the dry stream beds in Ophir [land],
25 And the Mighty hath been thy defence, And silver [is] strength to thee.
and if you allow Almighty [God] to be [as precious to you as] your gold and your silver [have been],
26 For then on the Mighty thou delightest thyself, And dost lift up unto God thy face,
you will be happy because of your close relationship with God, and you will be able to approach him [IDM] [confidently].
27 Thou dost make supplication unto Him, And He doth hear thee, And thy vows thou completest.
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.
28 And thou decreest a saying, And it is established to thee, And on thy ways hath light shone.
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.
29 For they have made low, And thou sayest, 'Lift up.' And the bowed down of eyes he saveth.
God humbles those who are proud, but he saves those who are downcast/discouraged.
30 He delivereth the not innocent, Yea, he hath been delivered By the cleanness of thy hands.
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).”
