22 Another address from Eliphaz:

² “Is mere man of any worth to God? Even the wisest is of value only to himself! ³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect? ⁴ Is it because you are good that he is punishing you? ⁵ Not at all! It is because of your wickedness! Your sins are endless!

⁶ “For instance, you must have refused to loan money to needy friends unless they gave you all their clothing as a pledge—yes, you must have stripped them to the bone. ⁷ You must have refused water to the thirsty and bread to the starving. ⁸ But no doubt you gave men of importance anything they wanted and let the wealthy live wherever they chose. ⁹ You sent widows away without helping them and broke the arms of orphans. ^10-11 That is why you are now surrounded by traps and sudden fears, and darkness and waves of horror.

¹² “God is so great—higher than the heavens, higher than the stars. ¹³ But you reply, ‘That is why he can’t see what I am doing! How can he judge through the thick darkness? ¹⁴ For thick clouds swirl about him so that he cannot see us. He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’

^15-16 “Don’t you realize that those treading the ancient paths of sin are snatched away in youth, and the foundations of their lives washed out forever? ¹⁷ For they said to God, ‘Go away, God! What can you do for us?’ ¹⁸ (God forbid that I should say a thing like that.) Yet they forgot that he had filled their homes with good things. ¹⁹ And now the righteous shall see them destroyed; the innocent shall laugh the wicked to scorn. ²⁰ ‘See,’ they will say, ‘the last of our enemies have been destroyed in the fire.’

²¹ “Quit quarreling with God! Agree with him and you will have peace at last! His favor will surround you if you will only admit that you were wrong. ²² Listen to his instructions and store them in your heart. ²³ If you return to God and put right all the wrong in your home, then you will be restored. ²⁴ If you give up your lust for money and throw your gold away, ²⁵ then the Almighty himself shall be your treasure; he will be your precious silver!

²⁶ “Then you will delight yourself in the Lord and look up to God. ²⁷ You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill all your promises to him. ²⁸ Whatever you wish will happen! And the light of heaven will shine upon the road ahead of you. ²⁹ If you are attacked and knocked down, you will know that there is someone who will lift you up again. Yes, he will save the humble ³⁰ and help even sinners by your pure hands.”