Jobs 22
1 Da tok Elifas fra Teman til orde og sa:
Then Eliphaz replied,
2 Kan vel en mann være til gagn for Gud? Nei, bare sig selv gagner den forstandige.
“(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 Er det til nogen nytte for den Allmektige at du er rettferdig, eller til nogen vinning at du vandrer ulastelig?
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 Er det for din gudsfrykts skyld han refser dig eller går i rette med dig?
“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 Er ikke din ondskap stor og dine misgjerninger uten ende?
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 Du tok jo pant av dine brødre uten grunn og drog klærne av de nakne.
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 Du gav ikke den trette vann å drikke, og den sultne nektet du brød.
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 Men den som gikk frem med vold, han fikk landet i eie, og den som var høit aktet, bodde i det.
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 Enker har du latt fare tomhendt, og farløses armer blev knust.
[When] widows [came to you for help], you [must have] sent [them] away without giving them anything, and you must have oppressed orphans.
10 Derfor er det snarer rundt omkring dig, og en hastig redsel forferder dig.
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 Eller ser du ikke mørket og den vannflom som dekker dig?
[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 Er ikke Gud høi som himmelen? Og se de øverste stjerner, hvor høit de står!
“[But consider this, Job]: God lives [RHQ] high up in the heavens. From there he [RHQ] looks down on the highest stars.
13 Og du sier: Hvad vet Gud? Kan han vel dømme gjennem mørket?
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 Skyene er et dekke for ham, så han ikke ser noget, og på himmelens hvelving vandrer han.
[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 Vil du følge den sti som syndens menn vandret på i de gamle dager,
Will you continue to conduct your life the old way that evil people have done [for many years]?
16 de som blev bortrykket før tiden, og under hvis føtter grunnen fløt bort som en strøm,
They suddenly died while they were still young; they disappeared [like everything disappears when there is] a flood [MET].
17 de menn som sa til Gud: Vik fra oss, og som spurte hvad den Allmektige vel skulde kunne gjøre for dem,
They kept saying to God, ‘Do not bother us,’ and they also said [defiantly], ‘Almighty [God] can do nothing [RHQ] to [harm] us!’
18 enda han hadde fylt deres hus med det som var godt? - Men de ugudeliges tanker er lang fra mine tanker. -
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 De rettferdige så det og gledet sig, og de uskyldige spottet dem:
“But when God punishes wicked people, and righteous people see that, they are glad, and they laugh, ridiculing the wicked people.
20 Sannelig, våre fiender er tilintetgjort, og ild har fortært deres overflod.
They say, ‘Now our enemies have been destroyed, and all [their possessions] that were left have been burned in a fire.’
21 Forlik dig nu med ham, så vil du få fred! Og så skal lykke times dig.
“So, [Job, ] be reconciled to God and make peace with him; if you do that, good things will happen to you.
22 Ta imot lærdom av hans munn og legg dig hans ord på hjerte!
Allow him to teach you, and keep thinking about what he has told you.
23 Vender du om til den Allmektige, da skal din lykke bli bygget op igjen; men du må få urett bort fra dine telt.
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 Kast ditt gull i støvet og ditt Ofir-gull blandt bekkenes stener!
if you throw away your gold, even the fine gold from the dry stream beds in Ophir [land],
25 Så skal den Allmektige være ditt gull, være som dynger av sølv for dig,
and if you allow Almighty [God] to be [as precious to you as] your gold and your silver [have been],
26 for da skal du glede dig i den Allmektige og løfte ditt åsyn til Gud.
you will be happy because of your close relationship with God, and you will be able to approach him [IDM] [confidently].
27 Du skal bede til ham, og han skal høre dig, og du skal opfylle dine løfter,
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 og setter du dig noget fore, da skal det lykkes for dig, og over dine veier skal det skinne lys;
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 når de fører nedover, skal du si: Opover! Han skal frelse den som slår sitt øie ned;
God humbles those who are proud, but he saves those who are downcast/discouraged.
30 han skal redde endog den som ikke er uskyldig; ved dine henders renhet skal han bli reddet.
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).”
