Job 22-24
Contemporary English Version
Eliphaz's Third Speech
What Use Are We Humans to God?
22 Eliphaz from Teman[a] said:
2 (A) What use are we humans
to God,
even the wisest of us?
3 If you were completely sinless,
that would still mean nothing
to God All-Powerful.
4 Is he correcting you
for worshiping him?
5 No! It's because of
your terrible and endless sins.
6 To guarantee payment of a debt,
you have taken clothes
from innocent people.
7 And you refused bread and water
to the hungry and thirsty,
8 although you were rich,
respected, and powerful.
9 You have turned away widows
and have broken the arms
of orphans.
10 That's why you were suddenly
trapped by terror,
11 blinded by darkness,
and drowned in a flood.
God Lives in the Heavens
12 God lives in the heavens
above the highest stars,
where he sees everything.
13 Do you think the deep darkness
hides you from God?
14 Do thick clouds cover his eyes,
as he walks around heaven's dome
high above the earth?
15 Give up those ancient ideas
believed by sinners,
16 who were swept away
without warning.
17 They rejected God All-Powerful,
feeling he was helpless,
18 although he had been kind
to their families.
The beliefs of these sinners
are truly disgusting.
19 When God's people see
the godless swept away,
they celebrate, 20 saying,
“Our enemies are gone,
and fire has destroyed
their possessions.”
Surrender to God All-Powerful
21 Surrender to God All-Powerful!
You will find peace
and prosperity.
22 Listen to his teachings
and take them to heart.
23 If you return to God
and turn from sin,
all will go well for you.
24 So get rid of your finest gold,
as though it were sand.
25 Let God All-Powerful
be your silver and gold,
26 and you will find happiness
by worshiping him.
27 God will answer your prayers,
and you will keep the promises
you made to him.
28 He will do whatever you ask,
and life will be bright.
29 When others are disgraced,
God will clear their names
in answer to your prayers.
30 Even those who are guilty
will be forgiven,
because you obey God.[b]
Job's Reply to Eliphaz
Today I Complain Bitterly
23 Job said:
2 Today I complain bitterly,
because God has been cruel
and made me suffer.
3 If I knew where to find God,
I would go there
4 and argue my case.
5 Then I would discover
what he wanted to say.
6 Would he overwhelm me
with his greatness?
No! He would listen
7 because I am innocent,
and he would say,
“I now set you free!”
8 I cannot find God anywhere—
in front or back of me,
9 to my left or my right.
God is always at work,
though I never see him.
10 But he knows what I am doing,
and when he tests me,
I will be pure as gold.
* 11 I have never refused to follow
any of his commands,
12 and I have always treasured
his teachings.[c]
13 But he alone is God,
and who can oppose him?
God does as he pleases,
14 and he will do exactly
what he intends with me.
* 15 Merely the thought
of God All-Powerful
16 makes me tremble with fear.
17 God has covered me
with darkness,
but I refuse to be silent.[d]
Job Continues
Why Doesn't God Set a Time?
24 Why doesn't God
set a time for court?
Why don't his people know
where he can be found?
2 Sinners remove boundary markers
and take care of sheep
they have stolen.
3 They cheat orphans and widows
by taking their donkeys
and oxen.
4 The poor are trampled
and forced to hide
5 in the desert,
where they and their children
must live like wild donkeys
and search for food.
6 If they want grain or grapes,[e]
they must go to the property
of these sinners.
7 They sleep naked in the cold,
because they have no cover,
8 and during a storm
their only shelters are caves
among the rocky cliffs.
9 Children whose fathers have died
are taken from their mothers
as payment for a debt.
10 Then they are forced to work
naked in the grain fields
because they have no clothes,
and they go hungry.
11 They crush olives to make oil
and grapes to make wine—
but still they go thirsty.
12 And along the city streets,
the wounded and dying cry out,
yet God does nothing.
Some Reject the Light
13 Some rebel and refuse
to follow the light.
14 Soon after sunset they murder
the poor and the needy,
and at night they steal.
15 Others wait for the dark,
thinking they won't be seen
if they sleep with the wife
or husband of someone else.
16 Robbers hide during the day,
then break in after dark
because they reject the light.
17 They prefer night to day,
since the terrors of the night
are their friends.
Sinners Are Filthy Foam
18 Those sinners are filthy foam
on the surface of the water.
And so, their fields and vineyards
will fall under a curse
and won't produce.
19 Just as the heat of summer
swallows the snow,
the world of the dead
swallows those who sin.
20 Forgotten here on earth,
and with their power broken,
they taste sweet to worms.
21 Sinners take advantage of widows
and other helpless women.[f]
22 But God's mighty strength
destroys those in power.
Even if they seem successful,
they are doomed to fail.
23 God may let them feel secure,
but they are never
out of his sight.
24 Great for a while; gone forever!
Sinners are mowed down
like weeds,
then they wither and die.
25 If I haven't spoken the truth,
then prove me wrong.
Footnotes
- 22.1 Teman: See the note at 2.11.
- 22.30 God: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 29,30.
- 23.12 treasured his teachings: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 23.17 silent: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 17.
- 24.6 If they want grain or grapes: Poor people were allowed to gather what was left in the fields and vineyards after the harvest.
- 24.21 women: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 21.
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