Job 22
1 Respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites, dixit:
Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded and said,
2 Numquid Deo potest comparari homo, etiam cum perfectae fuerit scientiae?
“How can anyone be of help to God? Even wise people are only helpful to themselves.
3 Quid prodest Deo si iustus fueris? aut quid ei confers si immaculata fuerit via tua?
Is it any benefit to the Almighty if you're a good person? What does he gain if you do what's right?
4 Numquid timens arguet te, et veniet tecum in iudicium,
Does he correct you and bring charges against you because of your reverence?
5 Et non propter malitiam tuam plurimam, et infinitas iniquitates tuas?
No: it's because you're so wicked! Your sins are never-ending!
6 Abstulisti enim pignus fratrum tuorum sine causa, et nudos spoliasti vestibus.
For no reason at all you took your brother's clothing as a security for a debt, and left them stripped naked.
7 Aquam lasso non dedisti, et esurienti subtraxisti panem.
You refused water to the thirsty; you denied food to the hungry.
8 In fortitudine brachii tui possidebas terram, et potentissimus obtinebas eam.
Is it because the land belongs to the powerful, and only the privileged have a right to live there?
9 Viduas dimisisti vacuas, et lacertos pupillorum comminuisti.
You have sent widows away empty-handed; you have crushed the outstretched arms of orphans, begging for help.
10 Propterea circumdatus es laqueis, et conturbat te formido subita.
That's why you're surrounded by traps to catch you, and why you suddenly panic in terror.
11 Et putabas te tenebras non visurum, et impetu aquarum inundantium non oppressum iri?
That's why it's so dark you cannot see, and why you feel like you're drowning.
12 An non cogitas quod Deus excelsior caelo sit, et super stellarum verticem sublimetur?
Doesn't God live in highest heaven and looks down on even the highest stars?
13 Et dicis: Quid enim novit Deus? et quasi per caliginem iudicat.
But you ask, ‘What does God know? How can he see and judge what happens in down here in darkness?
14 Nubes latibulum eius, nec nostra considerat, et circa cardines caeli perambulat.
Thick clouds cover him so he can't see anything as he walks around in heaven.’
15 Numquid semitam saeculorum custodire cupis, quam calcaverunt viri iniqui?
Why do you insist on following the traditional thinking of the wicked?
16 Qui sublati sunt ante tempus suum, et fluvius subvertit fundamentum eorum:
They were taken before their time; all they had built was washed away.
17 Qui dicebant Deo: Recede a nobis: et quasi nihil posset facere Omnipotens, aestimabant eum:
They had told God, ‘Get lost! What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 Cum ille implesset domos eorum bonis, quorum sententia procul sit a me.
And yet he was the one who had filled their homes with good things—but I don't accept their way of thinking.
19 Videbunt iusti, et laetabuntur, et innocens subsannabit eos.
Those who do right rejoice when they see the destruction of the wicked, and the innocent mock them,
20 Nonne succisa est erectio eorum, et reliquias eorum devoravit ignis?
saying, ‘Our enemies are destroyed, and fire has burned up all that's left of them.’
21 Acquiesce igitur ei, et habeto pacem: et per haec habebis fructus optimos.
Come back to God and be reconciled to him, and you'll be prosperous again.
22 Suscipe ex ore illius legem, et pone sermones eius in corde tuo.
Listen to what he tells you and keep his words in mind.
23 Si reversus fueris ad Omnipotentem, aedificaberis, et longe facies iniquitatem a tabernaculo tuo.
If you return to God you will be restored. If you renounce your sinful life
24 Dabit pro terra silicem, et pro silice torrentes aureos.
and give up your love of money and desire for possessions,
25 Eritque Omnipotens contra hostes tuos, et argentum coacervabitur tibi.
then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver.
26 Tunc super Omnipotentem deliciis afflues, et elevabis ad Deum faciem tuam.
Then you will find delight in the Almighty, and be able to face him without feeling ashamed.
27 Rogabis eum, et exaudiet te, et vota tua reddes.
You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will keep your promises to him.
28 Decernes rem, et veniet tibi, et in viis tuis splendebit lumen.
Whatever you decide to do will be successful, and wherever you go, light will shine on you.
29 Qui enim humiliatus fuerit, erit in gloria: et qui inclinaverit oculos, ipse salvabitur.
When others are humbled, and you say, ‘please help them,’ God will save them.
30 Salvabitur innocens, salvabitur autem in munditia manuum suarum.
God saves those who are innocent, and you will be saved if you do what is right.”
