Chapter Text
22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
22:2 “Can a mighty man be of use to God, Or an insightful man be useful to himself?
22:3 Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, Or profit if you make your ways perfect?
22:4 Is it because of your reverent fear that He reproves you, That He enters into judgment against you?
22:5 Is not your evil great, And your iniquities without end?
22:6 For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause, And stripped the clothing of the naked.
22:7 To the weary you have given no water to drink, And from the hungry you have withheld bread.
22:8 But the earth belongs to the mighty man, And the highly respected man inhabits it.
22:9 You have sent widows away empty, And the might of the orphans has been crushed.
22:10 Therefore snares surround you, And sudden dread terrifies you,
22:11 Or darkness, so that you cannot see, And an abundance of water covers you.
22:12 “Is not God in the height of heaven? Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!
22:13 You say, ‘What does God know? Can He judge through the dense gloom?
22:14 Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.’
22:15 Will you keep to the ancient path Which wicked men have trod,
22:16 Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundations were washed away by a river?
22:17 They said to God, ‘Depart from us!’ And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’
22:18 Yet He filled their houses with good things, But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
22:19 The righteous see and are glad, And the innocent mock them,
22:20 Saying, ‘Truly those who rise against us are wiped out, And their abundance the fire has consumed.’
22:21 “Yield now and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will come to you.
22:22 Please receive instruction from His mouth And set His words in your heart.
22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent,
22:24 And put your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
22:25 Then the Almighty will be your gold And choice silver to you.
22:26 For then you will delight in the Almighty And lift up your face to God.
22:27 You will entreat Him, and He will hear you; And you will pay your vows.
22:28 You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And light will shine on your ways.
22:29 When some are cast down, you will speak with confidence, And the humble person He will save.
22:30 He will provide escape for one who is not innocent, And he will escape through the cleanness of your hands.”