Job 22:14-24

14 '1Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.'
15 "Will you keep to the ancient path Which 2wicked men have trod,
16 Who were snatched away 3before their time, Whose 4foundations were washed away by a river?
17 "They 5said to God, 'Depart from us!' And 'What can the Almighty do to them?'
18 "Yet He 6filled their houses with good things; But 7the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 "The 8righteous see and are glad, And the innocent mock them,
20 Saying, 'Truly * our adversaries are cut off, And their abundance 9the fire has consumed.'
21 "10Yield now and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will come to you.
22 "Please receive 11instruction from His mouth And establish His words in your heart.
23 "If you 12return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you 13remove unrighteousness far from your tent,
24 And 14place your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,

Job 22:14-24 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOB 22

This chapter contains the third and last reply of Eliphaz to Job, in which he charges him with having too high an opinion of himself, of his holiness and righteousness, as if God was profited by it, and laid thereby under obligation to him, whereas he was not, Job 22:1-3; and as if he reproved and chastised him, because of his fear of him, whereas it was because of his sins, Job 22:4,5; an enumeration of which he gives, as of injustice, oppression, cruelty to the poor, and even of atheism and infidelity, for which snares and fears were around him, and various calamities, Job 22:6-14; and compares his way and course of life to that of the men of the old world, and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and suggests that his end would be like theirs, unless he repented, Job 22:15-20; and then concludes with an exhortation to him to return to God by repentance, and to reform, when he should see happy times again, and enjoy much outward and inward prosperity, and be an instrument of doing much good to many, Job 22:21-30.

Cross References 14

  • 1. Job 26:9
  • 2. Job 34:36
  • 3. Job 15:32; Job 21:13, 18
  • 4. Job 14:19; Psalms 90:5; Isaiah 28:2; Matthew 7:26, 27
  • 5. Job 21:14, 15
  • 6. Job 12:6
  • 7. Job 21:16
  • 8. Psalms 52:6; Psalms 58:10; Psalms 107:42
  • 9. Job 15:30
  • 10. Psalms 34:10
  • 11. Job 6:10; Job 23:12; Proverbs 2:6
  • 12. Job 8:5; Job 11:13; Isaiah 19:22; Isaiah 31:6; Zechariah 1:3
  • 13. Job 11:14
  • 14. Job 31:24, 25

Footnotes 9

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