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22 And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

Can a man be profitable to God? surely it is unto himself that the wise man is profitable.

Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if thou art righteous? And is it gain [to him] that thou makest thy ways perfect?

Will he reason with thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment?

Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities without end?

For thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped off the clothing of the naked.

Thou hast not given water to the fainting to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it.

Widows hast thou sent empty away, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

10 Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;

11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see, and floods of waters cover thee.

12 Is not +God in the height of the heavens? And behold the summit of the stars: how exalted are they!

13 And thou sayest, What doth God know? will he judge through the dark cloud?

14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh on the vault of the heavens.

15 Dost thou mark the ancient path which wicked men have trodden?

16 Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood;

17 Who said unto God, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do to them?

18 Yet he filled their houses with good. 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 Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue?

21 Reconcile thyself now with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

22 Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.

23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. If thou remove unrighteousness far from thy tents,

24 And put the precious ore with the dust, and [the gold of] Ophir among the stones of the torrents,

25 Then the Almighty will be thy precious ore, and silver heaped up unto thee;

26 Yea, 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 And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and light shall shine upon thy ways.

29 When they are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes.

30 [Even] him that is not innocent shall he deliver; yea, he shall be delivered by the pureness of thy hands.

23 And Job answered and said,

Even to-day is my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.

Oh that I knew where I might find him, that I might come to his seat!

I would order the cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments;

I would know the words he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.

Would he plead against me with [his] great power? Nay; but he would give heed unto me.

There would an upright man reason with him; and I should be delivered for ever from my judge.

Lo, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I do not perceive him;

On the left hand, where he doth work, but I behold [him] not; he hideth himself on the right hand, and I see [him] not.

10 But he knoweth the way that I take; he trieth me, I shall come forth as gold.

11 My foot hath held to his steps; his way have I kept, and not turned aside.

12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have laid up the words of his mouth more than the purpose of my own heart.

13 But he is in one [mind], and who can turn him? And what his soul desireth, that will he do.

14 For he will perform [what] is appointed for me; and many such things are with him.

15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence; I consider, and I am afraid of him.

16 For God hath made my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me;

17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, neither hath he hidden the gloom from me.

24 Why are not times treasured up with the Almighty? why do not they that know him see his days?

They remove the landmarks; they violently take away the flocks and pasture them;

They drive away the ass of the fatherless, they take the widow's ox for a pledge;

They turn the needy out of the way: the afflicted of the land all hide themselves.

Lo, [as] wild asses in the desert, they go forth to their work, seeking early for the prey: the wilderness [yieldeth] them food for [their] children.

They reap in the field the fodder thereof, and they gather the vintage of the wicked;

They pass the night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold;

They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and for want of a shelter embrace the rock …

They pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor:

10 These go naked without clothing, and, hungry, they bear the sheaf;

11 They press out oil within their walls, they tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

12 Men groan from out of the city, and the soul of the wounded crieth out; and +God imputeth not the impiety.

13 There are those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.

14 The murderer riseth with the light, killeth the afflicted and needy, and in the night is as a thief.

15 And the eye of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me; and he putteth a covering on [his] face.

16 In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in; they know not the light:

17 For the morning is to them all [as] the shadow of death; for they are familiar with the terrors of the shadow of death.

18 He is swift on the face of the waters; their portion is cursed on the earth: he turneth not unto the way of the vineyards.

19 Drought and heat consume snow waters; so doth Sheol those that have sinned.

20 The womb forgetteth him; the worm feedeth sweetly on him: he shall be no more remembered; and unrighteousness is broken as a tree,—

21 He that despoileth the barren that beareth not, and doeth not good to the widow:

22 He draweth also the mighty with his power; he riseth up, and no [man] is sure of life.

23 [God] setteth him in safety, and he resteth thereon; but his eyes are upon their ways.

24 They are exalted for a little, and are no more; they are laid low; like all [other] are they gathered, and are cut off as the tops of the ears of corn.

25 If it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth?

Eliphaz

22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:

“Can a man be of benefit to God?(B)
    Can even a wise person benefit him?(C)
What pleasure(D) would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?(E)
    What would he gain if your ways were blameless?(F)

“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
    and brings charges against you?(G)
Is not your wickedness great?
    Are not your sins(H) endless?(I)
You demanded security(J) from your relatives for no reason;(K)
    you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.(L)
You gave no water(M) to the weary
    and you withheld food from the hungry,(N)
though you were a powerful man, owning land(O)
    an honored man,(P) living on it.(Q)
And you sent widows(R) away empty-handed(S)
    and broke the strength of the fatherless.(T)
10 That is why snares(U) are all around you,(V)
    why sudden peril terrifies you,(W)
11 why it is so dark(X) you cannot see,
    and why a flood of water covers you.(Y)

12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?(Z)
    And see how lofty are the highest stars!
13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?(AA)
    Does he judge through such darkness?(AB)
14 Thick clouds(AC) veil him, so he does not see us(AD)
    as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’(AE)
15 Will you keep to the old path
    that the wicked(AF) have trod?(AG)
16 They were carried off before their time,(AH)
    their foundations(AI) washed away by a flood.(AJ)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
    What can the Almighty do to us?’(AK)
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,(AL)
    so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(AM)
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;(AN)
    the innocent mock(AO) them, saying,
20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,(AP)
    and fire(AQ) devours their wealth.’

21 “Submit to God and be at peace(AR) with him;(AS)
    in this way prosperity will come to you.(AT)
22 Accept instruction from his mouth(AU)
    and lay up his words(AV) in your heart.(AW)
23 If you return(AX) to the Almighty, you will be restored:(AY)
    If you remove wickedness far from your tent(AZ)
24 and assign your nuggets(BA) to the dust,
    your gold(BB) of Ophir(BC) to the rocks in the ravines,(BD)
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,(BE)
    the choicest silver for you.(BF)
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty(BG)
    and will lift up your face(BH) to God.(BI)
27 You will pray to him,(BJ) and he will hear you,(BK)
    and you will fulfill your vows.(BL)
28 What you decide on will be done,(BM)
    and light(BN) will shine on your ways.(BO)
29 When people are brought low(BP) and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
    then he will save the downcast.(BQ)
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,(BR)
    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”(BS)

Job

23 Then Job replied:

“Even today my complaint(BT) is bitter;(BU)
    his hand[a] is heavy in spite of[b] my groaning.(BV)
If only I knew where to find him;
    if only I could go to his dwelling!(BW)
I would state my case(BX) before him
    and fill my mouth with arguments.(BY)
I would find out what he would answer me,(BZ)
    and consider what he would say to me.
Would he vigorously oppose me?(CA)
    No, he would not press charges against me.(CB)
There the upright(CC) can establish their innocence before him,(CD)
    and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.(CE)

“But if I go to the east, he is not there;
    if I go to the west, I do not find him.
When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
    when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.(CF)
10 But he knows the way that I take;(CG)
    when he has tested me,(CH) I will come forth as gold.(CI)
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;(CJ)
    I have kept to his way without turning aside.(CK)
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;(CL)
    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.(CM)

13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?(CN)
    He does whatever he pleases.(CO)
14 He carries out his decree against me,
    and many such plans he still has in store.(CP)
15 That is why I am terrified before him;(CQ)
    when I think of all this, I fear him.(CR)
16 God has made my heart faint;(CS)
    the Almighty(CT) has terrified me.(CU)
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,(CV)
    by the thick darkness that covers my face.

24 “Why does the Almighty not set times(CW) for judgment?(CX)
    Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?(CY)
There are those who move boundary stones;(CZ)
    they pasture flocks they have stolen.(DA)
They drive away the orphan’s donkey
    and take the widow’s ox in pledge.(DB)
They thrust the needy(DC) from the path
    and force all the poor(DD) of the land into hiding.(DE)
Like wild donkeys(DF) in the desert,
    the poor go about their labor(DG) of foraging food;
    the wasteland(DH) provides food for their children.
They gather fodder(DI) in the fields
    and glean in the vineyards(DJ) of the wicked.(DK)
Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
    they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.(DL)
They are drenched(DM) by mountain rains
    and hug(DN) the rocks for lack of shelter.(DO)
The fatherless(DP) child is snatched(DQ) from the breast;
    the infant of the poor is seized(DR) for a debt.(DS)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;(DT)
    they carry the sheaves,(DU) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[c];
    they tread the winepresses,(DV) yet suffer thirst.(DW)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
    and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.(DX)
    But God charges no one with wrongdoing.(DY)

13 “There are those who rebel against the light,(DZ)
    who do not know its ways
    or stay in its paths.(EA)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
    kills(EB) the poor and needy,(EC)
    and in the night steals forth like a thief.(ED)
15 The eye of the adulterer(EE) watches for dusk;(EF)
    he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’(EG)
    and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,(EH)
    but by day they shut themselves in;
    they want nothing to do with the light.(EI)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
    they make friends with the terrors(EJ) of darkness.(EK)

18 “Yet they are foam(EL) on the surface of the water;(EM)
    their portion of the land is cursed,(EN)
    so that no one goes to the vineyards.(EO)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,(EP)
    so the grave(EQ) snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
    the worm(ER) feasts on them;(ES)
the wicked are no longer remembered(ET)
    but are broken like a tree.(EU)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
    and to the widow they show no kindness.(EV)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;(EW)
    though they become established,(EX) they have no assurance of life.(EY)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,(EZ)
    but his eyes(FA) are on their ways.(FB)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;(FC)
    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;(FD)
    they are cut off like heads of grain.(FE)

25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
    and reduce my words to nothing?”(FF)

Footnotes

  1. Job 23:2 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew / the hand on me
  2. Job 23:2 Or heavy on me in
  3. Job 24:11 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.