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Eliphaz’s Third Speech

22 Then[a] Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

“Can a man be of use to God?
Yes, can the wise be of use to him?
Is it a pleasure to Shaddai if you are righteous,
or[b] a gain if you make your ways blameless?
Does he reprove you because of your reverence
or enter into judgment with you?
Is not your wickedness great,
and there is no end to your iniquities?
“Indeed, you have required a pledge from your family for nothing,
and you have stripped off the clothes of the naked.
You have given no water for the weary to drink,
and you withheld food from the hungry.
And the land belongs to the man of power,[c]
and the favored[d] lives in it.
You have sent widows away empty-handed,
and the arms of orphans were crushed.
10 Therefore trapping nets are all around you,
and panic suddenly terrifies you,
11 or it is so dark you cannot see,
and a flood of water covers you.
12 Is not God in the height of the heavens?
But[e] see how lofty are the highest stars.[f]
13 And you ask, ‘What does God know?
Can he judge through deep gloom?
14 Thick clouds are a covering for him, so that he does not see;
and he walks about on the dome of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the way of old
that the people of mischief have trod,
16 who were snatched away before their time,[g]
whose foundation was washed away by a current?
17 Those who said to God, ‘Turn away from us,’
and ‘What can Shaddai do to us?’
18 Yet[h] he himself[i] filled up their houses with good things,
but[j] the schemes of the wicked are repugnant to me.
19 The righteous see, and they rejoice,
but[k] the innocent one mocks at them.
20 Surely[l] our foe perishes,
and fire has consumed their remainder.[m]
21 “Please reconcile yourself with him,
and be at peace; in this way,[n] good will come to you.
22 Please receive instruction from his mouth,
and place his words in your heart.
23 If you return to Shaddai, you will be restored;
if you remove wickedness from your tent,
24 and if you put gold ore in the dust,
and the gold of Ophir in the rock of wadis,
25 then[o] Shaddai will be your gold ore
and your precious silver.[p]
26 Indeed, then you will delight yourself in Shaddai,
and you will expect that God will be good to you.[q]
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will pay your vows.
28 And you will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
and light will shine on your ways.
29 When they are humiliated, you say,[r]It is pride,’
for[s] he saves the humble.[t]
30 He will deliver the guilty,
and he will escape because of the cleanness of your hands.”

Footnotes

  1. Job 22:1 Hebrew “And”
  2. Job 22:3 Hebrew “and”
  3. Job 22:8 Literally “man of power for him”
  4. Job 22:8 Literally “lifted up of face”
  5. Job 22:12 Hebrew “And”
  6. Job 22:12 Literally “top of stars,” or “head of stars”
  7. Job 22:16 Literally “and not time”
  8. Job 22:18 Hebrew “And”
  9. Job 22:18 Emphatic personal pronoun
  10. Job 22:18 Hebrew “and”
  11. Job 22:19 Hebrew “and”
  12. Job 22:20 Literally “If not”
  13. Job 22:20 Or “their wealth”
  14. Job 22:21 Literally “by them”
  15. Job 22:25 Hebrew “And”
  16. Job 22:25 Literally “silver of the best for you,” or “silver of the best belonging to you”
  17. Job 22:26 Literally “you will lift up to God your face”
  18. Job 22:29 Literally “and you say,” or “then you say”
  19. Job 22:29 Hebrew “and”
  20. Job 22:29 Literally “downward of eyes”

22 Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,

Can a man be profitable unto God?
Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself.
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?
Or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
Is it [a]for thy fear of him that he reproveth thee,
That he entereth with thee into judgment?
Is not thy wickedness great?
Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.
For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,
And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
But as for [b]the mighty man, he had the [c]earth;
And [d]the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
Thou hast sent widows away empty,
And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10 Therefore snares are round about thee,
And sudden fear troubleth thee,
11 [e]Or darkness, so that thou canst not see,
And abundance of waters cover thee.

12 Is not God in the height of heaven?
And behold the [f]height of the stars, how high they are!
13 And thou sayest, What doth God know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not;
And he walketh on the vault of heaven.
15 [g]Wilt thou 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 unto God, Depart from us;
And, What can the Almighty do [h]for [i]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;
And the innocent laugh them to scorn,
20 Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off,
And [j]the remnant of them the fire hath consumed.

21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:
[k]Thereby good shall come unto thee.
22 Receive, I pray thee, [l]the law from his mouth,
And lay up his words in thy heart.
23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up,
[m]If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.
24 And lay thou thy [n]treasure [o]in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
25 And the Almighty will be thy [p]treasure,
And [q]precious silver unto thee.
26 For then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty,
And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee;
And thou shalt pay thy vows.
28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee;
And light shall shine upon thy ways.
29 When they [r]cast thee down, thou shalt say, There is lifting up;
And [s]the humble person he will save.
30 He will deliver even him that is not innocent:
Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.

Footnotes

  1. Job 22:4 Or, for fear of thee
  2. Job 22:8 Hebrew the man of arm.
  3. Job 22:8 Or, land
  4. Job 22:8 Hebrew he whose person is accepted.
  5. Job 22:11 Or, Or dost thou not see the darkness, And the flood of waters that covereth thee?
  6. Job 22:12 Hebrew head.
  7. Job 22:15 Or, Dost thou mark
  8. Job 22:17 Or, to
  9. Job 22:17 Hebrew them.
  10. Job 22:20 Or, that which remained to them. Or, their abundance
  11. Job 22:21 Or, as otherwise read, Thereby shall thine increase be good.
  12. Job 22:22 Or, instruction
  13. Job 22:23 Or, Thou shalt put away . . . And shalt lay up
  14. Job 22:24 Hebrew ore.
  15. Job 22:24 Or, on the earth
  16. Job 22:25 Hebrew ore.
  17. Job 22:25 Or, precious silver shall be thine
  18. Job 22:29 Or, are made low
  19. Job 22:29 Hebrew him that is lowly of eyes.