Job 22-24

American Standard Version

² Can a man be profitable unto God?
Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself.
³ Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?
Or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
⁴ Is it ^[a]for thy fear of him that he reproveth thee,
That he entereth with thee into judgment?
⁵ Is not thy wickedness great?
Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.
⁶ For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
⁷ Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,
And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
⁸ But as for ^[b]the mighty man, he had the ^[c]earth;
And ^[d]the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
⁹ Thou hast sent widows away empty,
And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
¹⁰ Therefore snares are round about thee,
And sudden fear troubleth thee,
^11 [e]Or darkness, so that thou canst not see,
And abundance of waters cover thee.

¹² Is not God in the height of heaven?
And behold the ^[f]height of the stars, how high they are!
¹³ And thou sayest, What doth God know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
¹⁴ Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not;
And he walketh on the vault of heaven.
^15 [g]Wilt thou keep the old way
Which wicked men have trodden?
¹⁶ Who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
¹⁷ Who said unto God, Depart from us;
And, What can the Almighty do ^[h]for ^[i]us?
¹⁸ Yet he filled their houses with good things:
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
¹⁹ The righteous see it, and are glad;
And the innocent laugh them to scorn,
²⁰ Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off,
And ^[j]the remnant of them the fire hath consumed.

²¹ Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:
^[k]Thereby good shall come unto thee.
²² Receive, I pray thee, ^[l]the law from his mouth,
And lay up his words in thy heart.
²³ If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up,
^[m]If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.
²⁴ And lay thou thy ^[n]treasure ^[o]in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
²⁵ And the Almighty will be thy ^[p]treasure,
And ^[q]precious silver unto thee.
²⁶ For then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty,
And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
²⁷ Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee;
And thou shalt pay thy vows.
²⁸ Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee;
And light shall shine upon thy ways.
²⁹ When they ^[r]cast thee down, thou shalt say, There is lifting up;
And ^[s]the humble person he will save.
³⁰ He will deliver even him that is not innocent:
Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.

² Even to-day is my complaint ^[t]rebellious:
My stroke is heavier than my groaning.
³ Oh that I knew where I might find him!
That I might come even to his seat!
⁴ I would set my cause in order before him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
⁵ I would know the words which he would answer me,
And understand what he would say unto me.
⁶ Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
Nay; ^[u]but he would give heed unto me.
⁷ There the upright might reason with him;
So should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
⁸ Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;
And backward, but I cannot perceive him;
⁹ On the left hand, when he doth work, but I cannot behold him;
He ^[v]hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.

^10 [w]But he knoweth ^[x]the way that I take;
When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
¹¹ My foot hath held fast to his steps;
His way have I kept, and turned not aside.
¹² I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured up the words of his mouth ^[y]more than my ^[z]necessary food.
¹³ But ^[aa]he is in one mind, and who can turn him?
And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.
¹⁴ For he performeth that which is appointed for me:
And many such things are with him.
¹⁵ Therefore am I terrified at his presence;
When I consider, I am afraid of him.
¹⁶ For God hath made my heart faint,
And the Almighty hath terrified me;
^17 [ab]Because I was not cut off before the darkness,
Neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.

24 ^[ac]Why are times not laid up by the Almighty?
And why do not they that know him see his days?
² There are that remove the landmarks;
They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
³ They drive away the ass of the fatherless;
They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
⁴ They turn the needy out of the way:
The ^[ad]poor of the earth all hide themselves.
⁵ Behold, as wild asses in the desert
They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for ^[ae]food;
The wilderness yieldeth them bread for their children.
⁶ They cut ^[af]their provender in the field;
And they glean the vintage of the wicked.
⁷ They lie all night naked without clothing,
And have no covering in the cold.
⁸ They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
⁹ There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast,
And ^[ag]take a pledge of the poor;
¹⁰ So that they go about naked without clothing,
And being hungry they carry the sheaves.
¹¹ They make oil within the walls of these men;
They tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
¹² From out of the ^[ah]populous city men groan,
And the soul of the wounded crieth out:
Yet God regardeth not the folly.

¹³ These are of them that rebel against the light;
They know not the ways thereof,
Nor abide in the paths thereof.
¹⁴ The murderer riseth with the light;
He killeth the poor and needy;
And in the night he is as a thief.
¹⁵ The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight,
Saying, No eye shall see me:
And he ^[ai]disguiseth his face.
¹⁶ In the dark they dig through houses:
^[aj]They shut themselves up in the day-time;
They know not the light.
¹⁷ For ^[ak]the morning is to all of them as thick darkness;
For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.

^18 [al]Swiftly they pass away upon the face of the waters;
Their portion is cursed in the earth:
They turn not into the way of the vineyards.
¹⁹ Drought and heat ^[am]consume the snow waters:
So doth Sheol those that have sinned.
²⁰ The womb shall forget him;
The worm shall feed sweetly on him;
He shall be no more remembered;
And unrighteousness shall be broken ^[an]as a tree.
²¹ He devoureth the barren that beareth not,
And doeth not good to the widow.
²² Yet God preserveth the mighty by his power:
He riseth up that hath no assurance of life.
²³ God giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon;
^[ao]And his eyes are upon their ways.
²⁴ They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone;
^[ap]Yea, they are brought low, they are ^[aq]taken out of the way as all others,
And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
²⁵ And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech nothing worth?