Job 22
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:
2 “Can a mortal be of use to God?
Can even the wisest be of service to him?(A)
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty[a] if you are righteous,
or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?
4 Is it for your piety that he reproves you
and enters into judgment with you?(B)
5 Is not your wickedness great?
There is no end to your iniquities.(C)
6 For you have exacted pledges from your family for no reason
and stripped the naked of their clothing.(D)
7 You have given no water to the weary to drink,
and you have withheld bread from the hungry.(E)
8 The powerful possess the land,
and the favored live in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty-handed,
and the arms of the orphans you have crushed.[b](F)
10 Therefore snares are around you,
and sudden terror overwhelms you,
11 or darkness so that you cannot see;
a flood of water covers you.(G)
12 “Is not God high in the heavens?
See the highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 Therefore you say, ‘What does God know?
Can he judge through the deep darkness?(H)
14 Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see,
and he walks on the dome of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way
that the wicked have trod?
16 They were snatched away before their time;
their foundation was washed away by a flood.(I)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone,’
and ‘What can the Almighty[c] do to us?’[d]
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
but the plans of the wicked are repugnant to me.(J)
19 The righteous see it and are glad;
the innocent laugh them to scorn,(K)
20 saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
and what they left, the fire has consumed.’(L)
21 “Agree with God,[e] and be at peace;
in this way good will come to you.(M)
22 Receive instruction from his mouth,
and lay up his words in your heart.(N)
23 If you return to the Almighty,[f] you will be restored,
if you remove unrighteousness from your tents,(O)
24 if you treat gold like dust
and gold of Ophir like the stones of the torrent bed,(P)
25 and if the Almighty[g] is your gold
and your precious silver,(Q)
26 then you will delight yourself in the Almighty[h]
and lift up your face to God.(R)
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will pay your vows.(S)
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
and light will shine on your ways.(T)
29 When others are humiliated, you say it is pride,
for he saves the humble.(U)
30 He will deliver even those who are guilty;
they will escape because of the cleanness of your hands.”[i](V)
Footnotes
- 22.3 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- 22.9 Gk Syr Tg Vg: Heb were crushed
- 22.17 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- 22.17 Gk Syr: Heb them
- 22.21 Heb him
- 22.23 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- 22.25 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- 22.26 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- 22.30 Meaning of Heb uncertain
Job 22
New Living Translation
Eliphaz’s Third Response to Job
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “Can a person do anything to help God?
Can even a wise person be helpful to him?
3 Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous?
Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?
4 Is it because you’re so pious that he accuses you
and brings judgment against you?
5 No, it’s because of your wickedness!
There’s no limit to your sins.
6 “For example, you must have lent money to your friend
and demanded clothing as security.
Yes, you stripped him to the bone.
7 You must have refused water for the thirsty
and food for the hungry.
8 You probably think the land belongs to the powerful
and only the privileged have a right to it!
9 You must have sent widows away empty-handed
and crushed the hopes of orphans.
10 That is why you are surrounded by traps
and tremble from sudden fears.
11 That is why you cannot see in the darkness,
and waves of water cover you.
12 “God is so great—higher than the heavens,
higher than the farthest stars.
13 But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing!
How can he judge through the thick darkness?
14 For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us.
He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’
15 “Will you continue on the old paths
where evil people have walked?
16 They were snatched away in the prime of life,
the foundations of their lives washed away.
17 For they said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 Yet he was the one who filled their homes with good things,
so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.
19 “The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed,
and the innocent will laugh in contempt.
20 They will say, ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed.
The last of them have been consumed in the fire.’
21 “Submit to God, and you will have peace;
then things will go well for you.
22 Listen to his instructions,
and store them in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored—
so clean up your life.
24 If you give up your lust for money
and throw your precious gold into the river,
25 the Almighty himself will be your treasure.
He will be your precious silver!
26 “Then you will take delight in the Almighty
and look up to God.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows to him.
28 You will succeed in whatever you choose to do,
and light will shine on the road ahead of you.
29 If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’
God will save them.
30 Even sinners will be rescued;
they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
