1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied,2‘Can any person be of benefit to God? Can even a wise person be of any help to him?3Job, what pleasure would it give the Mighty One if you were right? What would he get if you were completely honest?4‘You say you have respect for him. Is that why he corrects you? Is that why he brings charges against you?5Haven’t you done many evil things? Don’t you sin again and again?6You took clothes away from your relatives just because they owed you some money. You left them naked for no reason at all.7You didn’t give any water to people who were tired. You held food back from those who were hungry.8You did it even though you were honoured and powerful. You owned land and lived on it.9But you sent widows away without anything. You ill-treated children whose fathers had died.10That’s why traps have been set all around you. That’s why sudden danger terrifies you.11That’s why it’s so dark you can’t even see. That’s why a flood covers you up.12‘Isn’t God in the highest parts of heaven? See how high the highest stars are!13But you still say, “What does God know? Can he see through the darkest clouds to judge us?14He goes around in the highest heavens. Thick clouds keep him from seeing us.”15Will you stay on the old path that sinful people have walked on?16They were carried off even before they died. Their foundations were washed away by a flood.17They said to God, “Leave us alone! What can you do to us, you Mighty One?”18But he was the one who filled their houses with good things. So I don’t pay any attention to the plans of evil people.19‘Those who do what is right are joyful when they see sinners destroyed. Those who haven’t done anything wrong make fun of them.20They say, “Our enemies are completely destroyed. Fire has burnt their wealth.”21‘Job, obey God and be at peace with him. Then he will help you succeed.22Do what he teaches you to do. Keep his words in your heart.23If you return to the Mighty One, you will have what you had before. But first you must remove everything that is evil far from your tent.24You must throw your gold nuggets away. You must toss your gold from Ophir into a valley.25Then the Mighty One himself will be your gold. He’ll be like the finest silver to you.26You will find delight in the Mighty One. You will honour God and trust in him.27You will pray to him, and he will hear you. You will keep the promises you made to him.28What you decide to do will be done. Light will shine on the path you take.29When people are brought low you will say, “Lift them up!” Then God will help them.30He’ll even save those who are guilty. He’ll save them because your hands are clean.’
Job 22
English Standard Version
Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: (Job 2:11)2“Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. (Job 35:7)3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right, or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless? (Ps 18:32)4Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you and enters into judgment with you? (Job 14:3; Ps 143:2)5Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities.6For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing and stripped the naked of their clothing. (Ex 22:26; De 24:6; De 24:17; Job 24:3; Job 24:9; Job 31:16; Eze 18:12; Eze 18:16)7You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. (Job 31:17; Isa 58:7; Eze 18:7; Eze 18:16; Mt 25:42)8The man with power possessed the land, and the favored man lived in it. (2Ki 5:1; Job 35:9; Isa 9:15)9You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless were crushed. (Job 31:21; Job 38:15; Isa 10:2; Eze 22:7; Lu 1:53)10Therefore snares are all around you, and sudden terror overwhelms you, (Job 18:8)11or darkness, so that you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you. (Ex 10:22; Job 27:20; Job 38:34; Ps 69:1; Ps 69:14; Ps 124:5; La 3:54; Jon 2:3; Jon 2:5)12“Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars, how lofty they are! (Job 11:8)13But you say, ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness? (Job 38:9; Ps 10:11; Ps 59:7; Ps 64:5; Ps 73:11; Ps 94:7; Isa 29:15; Eze 8:12; Eze 9:9)14Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see, and he walks on the vault of heaven.’ (Ps 139:11; Pr 8:27; Isa 40:22)15Will you keep to the old way that wicked men have trod?16They were snatched away before their time; their foundation was washed away.[1] (Job 15:32)17They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’ and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’[2] (Job 21:14; Ps 4:6)18Yet he filled their houses with good things— but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. (Job 21:16)19The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent one mocks at them, (Ps 2:4; Ps 52:6; Ps 58:10; Ps 64:10; Ps 107:42)20saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off, and what they left the fire has consumed.’ (Job 1:16)21“Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. (Ps 119:45; Pr 3:2)22Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. (Ps 119:11; Pr 2:6; Mal 2:7)23If you return to the Almighty you will be built up; if you remove injustice far from your tents, (Job 8:5; Job 11:13; Job 11:14; Jer 24:6; Jer 33:7; Mal 3:7)24if you lay gold in the dust, and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed, (1Ki 9:28; Job 20:11; Job 21:26)25then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver.26For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. (Job 11:15; Job 27:10; Ps 37:4; Isa 58:14)27You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. (Job 33:26; Ps 50:14; Isa 58:9)28You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. (Pr 4:18)29For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’;[3] but he saves the lowly. (Ps 138:6; Pr 3:34; Pr 29:23; Mt 23:12; Lu 1:52; Jas 4:6; 1Pe 5:5)30He delivers even the one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.” (Ge 18:26; Job 9:30; Job 17:9; Ps 18:20; Ps 18:24; Ps 24:4; Ps 26:6)