Job 22 (New American Standard)

Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite ^aresponded , 2 "Can a vigorous ¹man be of use to God, Or a wise man be useful to himself? 3 "Is there any pleasure to ^bthe Almighty if you are righteous, Or profit if you make your ways perfect ? 4 "Is it because of your ^creverence that He reproves you, That He ²enters into judgment against you? 5 "Is not ³your wickedness great, And your iniquities without end ? 6 "For you have ⁴taken pledges of your brothers without cause, And ⁵stripped ^dmen naked. 7 "To the weary you have ⁶given no water to drink, And from the hungry you have ⁷withheld bread. 8 "But the earth ⁸belongs to the ⁹mighty man, And ¹⁰the honorable man dwells in it. 9 "You have sent ¹¹widows away empty, And the ^estrength of the ¹²orphans has been crushed. 10 "Therefore ¹³snares surround you, And sudden ¹⁴dread terrifies you, 11 Or ¹⁵darkness, so that you cannot see, And an ¹⁶abundance of water covers you. 12 "Is not God ¹⁷in the height of heaven ? Look also at the ^fdistant stars, how high they are! 13 "You say, '¹⁸What does God know ? Can He judge through the thick darkness ? 14 '¹⁹Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see ; And He walks on the ^gvault of heaven.' 15 "Will you keep to the ancient path Which ²⁰wicked men have trod, 16 Who were snatched away ²¹before their time, Whose ²²foundations were ^hwashed away by a river ? 17 "They ²³said to God, 'Depart from us!' And 'What can ⁱthe Almighty do to them?' 18 "Yet He ²⁴filled their houses with good things; But ²⁵the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19 "The ²⁶righteous see and are glad, And the innocent mock them, 20 Saying, 'Truly our adversaries are cut off, And their ^jabundance ²⁷the fire has consumed.' 21 "^k28Yield now and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will come to you. 22 "Please receive ^l29instruction from His mouth And establish His words in your heart. 23 "If you ³⁰return to ^mthe Almighty, you will be ⁿrestored ; If you ³¹remove unrighteousness far from your tent, 24 And ³²place your ^ogold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks, 25 Then ^pthe Almighty will be your ^qgold And choice silver to you. 26 "For then you will ³³delight in ^rthe Almighty And lift up your face to God. 27 "You will ³⁴pray to Him, and ³⁵He will hear you; And you will pay your vows. 28 "You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; And ³⁶light will shine on your ways. 29 "When ^syou are cast down, you will speak with ^tconfidence, And the ^u37humble person He will save. 30 "He will deliver one who is not innocent, And he will be ³⁸delivered through the cleanness of your hands."