“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
    and brings charges against you?(A)
Is not your wickedness great?
    Are not your sins(B) endless?(C)
You demanded security(D) from your relatives for no reason;(E)
    you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.(F)
You gave no water(G) to the weary
    and you withheld food from the hungry,(H)
though you were a powerful man, owning land(I)
    an honored man,(J) living on it.(K)
And you sent widows(L) away empty-handed(M)
    and broke the strength of the fatherless.(N)
10 That is why snares(O) are all around you,(P)
    why sudden peril terrifies you,(Q)
11 why it is so dark(R) you cannot see,
    and why a flood of water covers you.(S)

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Will he acquit you just because you fear him,
    and render a verdict on your behalf?
Your wickedness is great, isn’t it?
    There’s no limit to your iniquity, is there?

“After all, you’ve taken collateral from your relatives for no reason;
    you stripped the naked of their clothing.[a]
You’ve neglected to give water to the weary,[b]
    and you’ve withheld food from the hungry.
The land belongs to the powerful,
    and the privileged[c] thrive in it.
You sent away widows empty-handed,
    and broke the outstretched arms of orphans.
10 That’s why disaster surrounds you,
    terror suddenly overwhelms you,
11 you see nothing but darkness,
    and a flood of troubles[d] drowns you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Job 22:6 I.e. in exchange for a short-term loan
  2. Job 22:7 MT has cause the weary to drink
  3. Job 22:8 Lit. who lifts the face
  4. Job 22:11 The Heb. lacks of troubles