Job 22
Expanded Bible
Eliphaz Answers
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Can anyone ·be of real use to [benefit] God?
Can even a ·wise [skilled] person ·do him good [benefit him]?
3 Does it ·help [delight; give pleasure to] ·the Almighty [Shaddai] for you to be ·good [righteous]?
·Does he gain anything [What profit is it to him] if you are ·innocent [blameless]?
4 Does God ·punish [reprimand; reprove] you for ·respecting him [L your fear; C in the sense of piety]?
Does he ·bring you into court for this [L enter into judgment with you]?
5 No! It is because your evil is ·without limits [L abundant]
and your ·sins have [guilt has] no end.
6 You ·took your brothers’ things for a debt they didn’t owe [L exacted pledges from your brothers for no reason; Ex. 21:25–27];
you took clothes from people and left them naked.
7 You did not give water to ·tired [weary] people,
and you kept food from the ·hungry [famished; starving].
8 ·You were a powerful man who [L The powerful] owned land;
·you were honored and [L the favored] lived in the land.
9 But you sent widows away empty-handed,
and you ·mistreated [L crushed the arms/strength of the] orphans.
10 That is why traps are all around you
and sudden danger frightens you.
11 That is why it is so dark you cannot see
and a flood of water covers you.
12 “·God is [L Is not God…?] in the highest part of heaven.
See how high the highest stars are [C God is even higher]!
13 But you ask, ‘What does God know?
Can he judge us through the ·dark clouds [thick darkness]?
14 Thick clouds ·cover [hide] him so he cannot see us
as he ·walks [wanders] around ·high up in the sky [L the vault/dome of heaven; C Eliphaz suspects Job denies God knows what is going on in human affairs].’
15 Are you going to ·stay on [guard] the ·old [ancient] path
where ·evil [guilty] people ·walk [tread]?
16 They were ·carried away [or bound up] before their time was up,
and their foundations were washed away by a ·flood [L river].
17 They said to God, ‘·Leave us alone [Get away from us; 21:14]!
·The Almighty can do nothing [L What can the Almighty/Shaddai do…?] to us.’
18 But ·it was God [L was it not he…?] who filled their houses with good things.
Their ·way of thinking [plan; counsel] is ·different [far] from mine [21:16].
19 “·Good [Righteous] people can watch and be glad;
the innocent can ·laugh at [mock; ridicule] them and say,
20 ‘Surely our enemies are destroyed,
and fire burns up ·their wealth [or what is left of theirs].’
21 “·Obey God [L Get along with him] and be at peace with him;
this is the way to ·happiness [or prosperity; C Eliphaz calls on Job to repent].
22 Accept ·teaching [instruction] from his mouth,
and ·keep [put] his words in your heart.
23 If you return to ·the Almighty [Shaddai], you will be ·blessed again [L restored].
So remove ·evil [iniquity] from your ·house [L tent].
24 ·Throw [Put] your gold nuggets into the dust
and ·your fine gold [L Ophir; C referring to the fine gold of the region of Ophir, perhaps southern Arabia] among the rocks in the ·ravines [wadis].
25 Then ·the Almighty [Shaddai] will be your gold
and the ·best [choice] silver for you.
26 You will ·find pleasure [delight] in ·the Almighty [Shaddai],
and you will ·look up [show favor] to him.
27 You will ·pray to [entreat] him, and he will hear you,
and you will keep your ·promises [vows; C made in anticipation of answered prayer] to him.
28 Anything you decide will be done,
and light will ·shine on [illuminate] your ways.
29 When people are made humble and you say, ‘·Have courage [or It is pride],’
then ·the humble [L those with downcast eyes] will be saved.
30 ·Even a guilty person will escape [or He rescues the innocent]
and ·be saved [or and saves you] because your hands are ·clean [pure].”
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.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
