² Can a man benefit God?
Can even a wise man be of any use to him?
³ Should the Almighty be delighted if you are righteous?
Does he gain any advantage if your ways are blameless?
⁴ Is it because of your reverence that he rebukes you
and comes against you in judgment?
⁵ Isn’t your wickedness great?
Isn’t your guilt endless?
⁶ You have seized collateral from your brothers without cause,
and you have stripped off clothing from the naked.
⁷ You have not given water to the weary,
and you have withheld bread from the hungry.

⁸ The earth belongs to a forceful man,
and a well-respected man dwells in it.^[a]

⁹ You send widows away empty-handed.
You crush the arms of the fatherless.
¹⁰ That is why snares are all around you,
and sudden fear overwhelms you.
¹¹ That is why you cannot see in the darkness,
and floodwaters cover you.

¹² Is not God in the heights of heaven?
Look at^[b] the highest stars, so high above!
¹³ But you say, “What does God know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
¹⁴ Dark clouds are a veil around him,
so he does not see us
as he walks back and forth in heaven’s dome.”

¹⁵ Are you the guardian of the ancient way,
    the one traveled by wicked men?
¹⁶ They were snatched away before their time.^[c]
Their foundation was washed away by a river.
¹⁷ They said to God, “Keep away from us,”
and “What can the Almighty do to us?”^[d]
18 even though he had filled their houses with good.
That is why the way of life of the wicked is far from me.
¹⁹ The righteous see this and are glad.
The innocent mock them, saying,
²⁰ “Surely our adversaries have been erased!
Fire has eaten up their abundance.”

²¹ Be reconciled with God.
Be at peace with him.
Then good will come to you.
²² Accept teaching from his mouth,
and set his words in your heart.
²³ If you turn to the Almighty, you will be built up.
If you want to put injustice far from your tent,
²⁴ throw your purest gold^[e] into the dust
and your gold from Ophir upon the rocks in the ravines.
²⁵ Then the Almighty will be your purest gold
and your most precious silver.
²⁶ Then you will find pleasure in the Almighty,
and you will lift up your face to God.
²⁷ You will pray to God, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows.
²⁸ You will decide on a matter, and it will be done for you,
and light will shine on your ways.
²⁹ When people are brought low,
and you say, “Lift them up,”
God will save the downcast.
³⁰ He will deliver even the person who is not innocent,
who will escape by the purity of your hands.