Job 22
Amplified Bible
Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2
“Can a vigorous man be of use to God,
Or a wise man be useful to himself?(A)
3
“Is it any pleasure or joy to [a]the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it of benefit to Him that you make your ways perfect?(B)
4
“Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you,
That He enters into judgment against you?
5
“Is not your wickedness great,
And your sins without end?
6
“For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,
And stripped men naked.
7
“You have not given water to the weary to drink,
And you have withheld bread from the hungry.(C)
8
“But the land is possessed by the man with power,
And the favored and honorable man dwells in it.
9
“You have sent widows away empty-handed,
And the arms (strength) of the fatherless have been broken.
10
“Therefore snares surround you,
And sudden dread terrifies and overwhelms you;
11
Or darkness, so that you cannot see,
And a flood of water covers you.
12
“Is not God in the height of heaven?
And behold the distant stars, how high they are!
13
“You say, ‘What does God know [about me]?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?
14
‘Thick clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see,
And He walks on the vault (circle) of the heavens.’
15
“Will you keep to the ancient path
That wicked men walked [in the time of Noah],(D)
16
Men who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundations were poured out like a river?
17
“They said to God, ‘Depart from us!
What can the Almighty do for us or to us?’
18
“Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked and ungodly is far from me.
19
“The righteous see it and are glad;
And the innocent mock and laugh at them, saying,
20
‘Surely our adversaries are cut off and destroyed,
And fire has consumed their abundance.’
21
“Now yield and submit yourself to Him [agree with God and be conformed to His will] and be at peace;
In this way [you will prosper and great] good will come to you.
22
“Please receive the law and instruction from His mouth
And establish His words in your heart and keep them.(E)
23
“If you return to the Almighty [and submit and humble yourself before Him], you will be built up [and restored];
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tents,
24
And place your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks [considering it of little value],
25
And make the Almighty your gold
And your precious silver,
26
Then you will have delight in the Almighty,
And you will lift up your face to God.
27
“You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,
And you will pay your vows.
28
“You will also decide and decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
And the light [of God’s favor] will shine upon your ways.
29
“When you are cast down and humbled, you will speak with confidence,
And the humble person He will lift up and save.
30
“He will even rescue the one [for whom you intercede] who is not innocent;
And he will be rescued through the cleanness of your hands.”(F)
Footnotes
- Job 22:3 Heb Shaddai, also vv 17, 23, 25, 26.
Job 22
The Message
Eliphaz Attacks Job—The Third Round
Come to Terms with God
22 1-11 Once again Eliphaz the Temanite took up his theme:
“Are any of us strong enough to give God a hand,
or smart enough to give him advice?
So what if you were righteous—would God Almighty even notice?
Even if you gave a perfect performance, do you think
he’d applaud?
Do you think it’s because he cares about your purity
that he’s disciplining you, putting you on the spot?
Hardly! It’s because you’re a first-class moral failure,
because there’s no end to your sins.
When people came to you for help,
you took the shirts off their backs, exploited their helplessness.
You wouldn’t so much as give a drink to the thirsty,
or food, not even a scrap, to the hungry.
And there you sat, strong and honored by everyone,
surrounded by immense wealth!
You turned poor widows away from your door;
heartless, you crushed orphans.
Now you’re the one trapped in terror, paralyzed by fear.
Suddenly the tables have turned!
How do you like living in the dark, sightless,
up to your neck in flood waters?
12-14 “You agree, don’t you, that God is in charge?
He runs the universe—just look at the stars!
Yet you dare raise questions: ‘What does God know?
From that distance and darkness, how can he judge?
He roams the heavens wrapped in clouds,
so how can he see us?’
15-18 “Are you going to persist in that tired old line
that wicked men and women have always used?
Where did it get them? They died young,
flash floods sweeping them off to their doom.
They told God, ‘Get lost!
What good is God Almighty to us?’
And yet it was God who gave them everything they had.
It’s beyond me how they can carry on like this!
19-20 “Good people see bad people crash, and call for a celebration.
Relieved, they crow,
‘At last! Our enemies—wiped out.
Everything they had and stood for is up in smoke!’
21-25 “Give in to God, come to terms with him
and everything will turn out just fine.
Let him tell you what to do;
take his words to heart.
Come back to God Almighty
and he’ll rebuild your life.
Clean house of everything evil.
Relax your grip on your money
and abandon your gold-plated luxury.
God Almighty will be your treasure,
more wealth than you can imagine.
26-30 “You’ll take delight in God, the Mighty One,
and look to him joyfully, boldly.
You’ll pray to him and he’ll listen;
he’ll help you do what you’ve promised.
You’ll decide what you want and it will happen;
your life will be bathed in light.
To those who feel low you’ll say, ‘Chin up! Be brave!’
and God will save them.
Yes, even the guilty will escape,
escape through God’s grace in your life.”
Job 22
New American Standard Bible
Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
2 “Can a strong (A)man be of use to God,
Or a wise one be useful to himself?
3 Is it any pleasure to [a]the Almighty if you are righteous,
Or gain if you make your ways blameless?
4 Is it because of your [b]reverence that He punishes you,
That He (B)enters into judgment against you?
5 Is (C)your wickedness not abundant,
And is there no end to your guilty deeds?
6 For you have (D)seized pledges from your brothers without cause,
And [c](E)stripped people naked.
7 You have (F)given the weary no water to drink,
And you have (G)withheld bread from the hungry.
8 But the earth (H)belongs to the (I)powerful man,
And (J)the one who is honorable dwells on it.
9 You have sent (K)widows away empty,
And the [d]strength of (L)orphans has been crushed.
10 Therefore (M)traps surround you,
And sudden (N)dread terrifies you,
11 Or (O)darkness, so that you cannot see,
And a (P)flood of water covers you.
12 “Is God not (Q)in the height of heaven?
Look also at the [e]highest stars, how high they are!
13 But you say, ‘(R)What does God know?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?
14 (S)Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;
And He walks on the [f]vault of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the ancient path
Which (T)wicked people have walked,
16 Who were snatched away (U)before their time,
Whose (V)foundations were [g]washed away by a river?
17 They (W)said to God, ‘Go away from us!’
And ‘What can [h]the Almighty do to them?’
18 Yet He (X)filled their houses with good things;
But (Y)the advice of the wicked is far from me.
19 The (Z)righteous see and are glad,
And the innocent mock them, saying,
20 ‘Truly our enemies are eliminated,
And (AA)fire has consumed their [i]abundance.’
21 “(AB)Be reconciled with Him, and be at peace;
Thereby good will come to you.
22 Please receive [j](AC)instruction from His mouth,
And put His words in your heart.
23 If you (AD)return to [k]the Almighty, you will be [l]restored;
If you (AE)remove injustice far from your tent,
24 And (AF)put your [m]gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
25 Then [n]the Almighty will be your [o]gold
And abundant silver to you.
26 For then you will (AG)take pleasure in [p]the Almighty
And lift up your face to God.
27 You will (AH)pray to Him, and (AI)He will hear you;
And you will pay your vows.
28 You will also decide something, and it will be established for you;
And (AJ)light will shine on your ways.
29 When [q]they have brought you low, you will speak with [r]confidence,
And He will save the [s](AK)humble person.
30 He will rescue one who is not innocent,
And he will be (AL)rescued due to the cleanness of your hands.”
Footnotes
- Job 22:3 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:4 Or fear
- Job 22:6 Lit stripped clothing of the naked
- Job 22:9 Lit arms
- Job 22:12 Lit head, top-most
- Job 22:14 Lit circle
- Job 22:16 Lit poured out
- Job 22:17 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:20 Or excess
- Job 22:22 Or law
- Job 22:23 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:23 Lit built up
- Job 22:24 Lit ore
- Job 22:25 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:25 Lit ore
- Job 22:26 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:29 Lit they cast you down
- Job 22:29 Lit pride
- Job 22:29 Lit lowly of eyes
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