Job 22
1 Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered,
2 Numquid Deo potest comparari homo, etiam cum perfectæ fuerit scientiæ?
“Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
3 Quid prodest Deo, si justus fueris? aut quid ei confers, si immaculata fuerit via tua?
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him that you make your ways perfect?
4 Numquid timens arguet te, et veniet tecum in judicium,
Is it for your piety that he reproves you, that he enters with you into judgement?
5 et non propter malitiam tuam plurimam, et infinitas iniquitates tuas?
Isn’t your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities.
6 Abstulisti enim pignus fratrum tuorum sine causa, et nudos spoliasti vestibus.
For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 Aquam lasso non dedisti, et esurienti subtraxisti panem.
You haven’t given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 In fortitudine brachii tui possidebas terram, et potentissimus obtinebas eam.
But as for the mighty man, he had the earth. The honourable man, he lived in it.
9 Viduas dimisisti vacuas, et lacertos pupillorum comminuisti.
You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10 Propterea circumdatus es laqueis, et conturbat te formido subita.
Therefore snares are around you. Sudden fear troubles you,
11 Et putabas te tenebras non visurum, et impetu aquarum inundantium non oppressum iri?
or darkness, so that you can not see, and floods of waters cover you.
12 an non cogitas quod Deus excelsior cælo sit, et super stellarum verticem sublimetur?
“Isn’t God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are!
13 Et dicis: Quid enim novit Deus? et quasi per caliginem judicat.
You say, ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?
14 Nubes latibulum ejus, nec nostra considerat, et circa cardines cæli perambulat.
Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn’t see. He walks on the vault of the sky.’
15 Numquid semitam sæculorum custodire cupis, quam calcaverunt viri iniqui,
Will you keep the old way, which wicked men have trodden,
16 qui sublati sunt ante tempus suum, et fluvius subvertit fundamentum eorum?
who were snatched away before their time, whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
17 Qui dicebant Deo: Recede a nobis: et quasi nihil posset facere Omnipotens, æstimabant eum,
who said to God, ‘Depart from us!’ and, ‘What can the Almighty do for us?’
18 cum ille implesset domos eorum bonis: quorum sententia procul sit a me.
Yet he filled their houses with good things, but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 Videbunt justi, et lætabuntur, et innocens subsannabit eos:
The righteous see it, and are glad. The innocent ridicule them,
20 nonne succisa est erectio eorum? et reliquias eorum devoravit ignis?
saying, ‘Surely those who rose up against us are cut off. The fire has consumed their remnant.’
21 Acquiesce igitur ei, et habeto pacem, et per hæc habebis fructus optimos.
“Acquaint yourself with him now, and be at peace. By it, good will come to you.
22 Suscipe ex ore illius legem, et pone sermones ejus in corde tuo.
Please receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
23 Si reversus fueris ad Omnipotentem, ædificaberis, et longe facies iniquitatem a tabernaculo tuo.
If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up, if you put away unrighteousness far from your tents.
24 Dabit pro terra silicem, et pro silice torrentes aureos.
Lay your treasure in the dust, the gold of Ophir amongst the stones of the brooks.
25 Eritque Omnipotens contra hostes tuos, et argentum coacervabitur tibi.
The Almighty will be your treasure, and precious silver to you.
26 Tunc super Omnipotentem deliciis afflues, et elevabis ad Deum faciem tuam.
For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face to God.
27 Rogabis eum, et exaudiet te, et vota tua reddes.
You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You will pay your vows.
28 Decernes rem, et veniet tibi, et in viis tuis splendebit lumen.
You will also decree a thing, and it will be established to you. Light will shine on your ways.
29 Qui enim humiliatus fuerit, erit in gloria, et qui inclinaverit oculos, ipse salvabitur.
When they cast down, you will say, ‘be lifted up.’ He will save the humble person.
30 Salvabitur innocens: salvabitur autem in munditia manuum suarum.
He will even deliver him who is not innocent. Yes, he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
