22
1 Then Eliphaz the
Temanite answered,
2 “Can
a man be
profitable to God?
Surely he who
is wise is
profitable to
himself.
3 Is
it any pleasure
to the Almighty
that you are
righteous?
Or does it benefit
him that you
make your ways
perfect?
4 Is
it for your
piety that he reproves
you,
that he enters with you
into judgment?
5 Isn’t your
wickedness great?
Neither is there
any end to
your iniquities.
6 For
you have taken
pledges from your brother
for nothing,
and stripped the
naked of their clothing.
7 You haven’t
given water to
the weary to
drink,
and you have
withheld bread
from the hungry.
8 But as
for the mighty
man, he had
the earth.
The honorable man,
he lived in
it.
9 You
have sent widows
away empty,
and the arms
of the fatherless
have been broken.
10 Therefore
snares are around
you.
Sudden fear troubles
you,
11 or
darkness, so that
you can not
see,
and floods of
waters cover you.
12 “Isn’t God
in the heights
of heaven?
See the height
of the stars,
how high they
are!
13 You say, ‘What
does God know?
Can he judge
through the thick
darkness?
14 Thick
clouds are a
covering to him,
so that he doesn’t
see.
He walks on
the vault of
the sky.’
15 Will
you keep the
old way,
which wicked men have
trodden,
16 who
were snatched away
before their time,
whose foundation
was poured out
as a stream,
17 who said
to God, ‘Depart
from us!’
and, ‘What can
the Almighty do
for us?’
18 Yet he
filled their
houses with good
things,
but the counsel
of the wicked
is far from
me.
19 The
righteous see it,
and are glad.
The innocent ridicule
them,
20 saying, ‘Surely
those who rose up against us are
cut off.
The fire has consumed their
remnant.’
21 “Acquaint
yourself with him
now, and be
at peace.
By it, good
will come to
you.
22 Please
receive instruction
from his mouth,
and lay up
his words in
your heart.
23 If you
return to the
Almighty, you will
be built up,
if you put away
unrighteousness far
from your tents.
24 Lay
your treasure in
the dust,
the gold of Ophir
among the stones
of the brooks.
25 The
Almighty will be
your treasure,
and precious silver
to you.
26 For
then you will
delight yourself
in the Almighty,
and will lift
up your face
to God.
27 You
will make your
prayer to him,
and he will hear
you.
You will pay
your vows.
28 You
will also decree
a thing, and it
will be
established to you.
Light will shine
on your ways.
29 When
they cast down,
you will say, ‘be
lifted up.’
He will save
the humble person.
30 He
will even deliver
him who is not
innocent.
Yes, he will be
delivered through the
cleanness of your
hands.”