1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:2‘Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise person benefit him?3What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless?4‘Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you?5Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?6You demanded security from your relatives for no reason; you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.7You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry,8though you were a powerful man, owning land – an honoured man, living on it.9And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless.10That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you,11why it is so dark that you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you.12‘Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars!13Yet you say, “What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness?14Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.”15Will you keep to the old path that the wicked have trod?16They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood.17They said to God, “Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?”18Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.19The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying,20“Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.”21‘Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.22Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: if you remove wickedness far from your tent24and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,25then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.26Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.27You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfil your vows.28What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.29When people are brought low and you say, “Lift them up!” then he will save the downcast.30He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.’
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)