Job 22

Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,

2 “Can a strong ^aman be of use to God,
Or a wise one be useful to himself?
3 “Is it any pleasure to ^{▼▼Heb Shaddai}the Almighty if you are righteous,
Or gain if you make your ways blameless?
4 “Is it because of your ^{▼▼Or fear}reverence that He punishes you,
That He ^denters into judgment against you?
5 “Is ^eyour wickedness not abundant,
And is there no end to your guilty deeds?
6 “For you have ^fseized pledges from your brothers without cause,
And ^{▼▼Lit stripped clothing of the naked
,} ^hstripped people naked.
7 “You have ⁱgiven the weary no water to drink,
And you have ^jwithheld bread from the hungry.
8 “But the earth ^kbelongs to the ^lpowerful man,
And ^mthe one who is honorable dwells on it.
9 “You have sent ⁿwidows away empty,
And the ^{▼▼Lit arms}strength of ^porphans has been crushed.
10 “Therefore ^qtraps surround you,
And sudden ^rdread terrifies you,
11 Or ^sdarkness, so that you cannot see,
And a ^tflood of water covers you.

12 “Is God not ^uin the height of heaven?
Look also at the ^{▼▼Lit head, top-most}highest stars, how high they are!
13 “But you say, ‘ ^wWhat does God know?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?
14 ‘ ^xClouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;
And He walks on the ^{▼▼Lit circle}vault of heaven.’
15 “Will you keep to the ancient path
Which ^zwicked people have walked,
16 Who were snatched away ^aabefore their time,
Whose ^abfoundations were ^{▼▼Lit poured out}washed away by a river?
17 “They ^adsaid to God, ‘Go away from us!’
And ‘What can ^{▼▼Heb Shaddai}the Almighty do to them?’
18 “Yet He ^affilled their houses with good things;
But ^agthe advice of the wicked is far from me.
19 “The ^ahrighteous see and are glad,
And the innocent mock them, saying,
20 ‘Truly our enemies are eliminated,
And ^aifire has consumed their ^{▼▼Or excess}abundance.’

21 “ ^akBe reconciled with Him, and be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
22 “Please receive ^{▼▼Or law
,} ^aminstruction from His mouth,
And put His words in your heart.
23 “If you ^anreturn to ^{▼▼Heb Shaddai}the Almighty, you will be ^{▼▼Lit built up}restored;
If you ^aqremove injustice far from your tent,
24 And ^arput your ^{▼▼Lit ore}gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
25 Then ^{▼▼Heb Shaddai}the Almighty will be your ^{▼▼Lit ore}gold
And abundant silver to you.
26 “For then you will ^avtake pleasure in ^{▼▼Heb Shaddai}the Almighty
And lift up your face to God.
27 “You will ^axpray to Him, and ^ayHe will hear you;
And you will pay your vows.
28 “You will also decide something, and it will be established for you;
And ^azlight will shine on your ways.
29 “When ^{▼▼Lit they cast you down}they have brought you low, you will speak with ^{▼▼Lit pride}confidence,
And He will save the ^{▼▼Lit lowly of eyes
,} ^bdhumble person.
30 “He will rescue one who is not innocent,
And he will be ^berescued due to the cleanness of your hands.”