Job 22:17-27

17 They told God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do for us?'

18 Yet, he filled their homes with good things. (The plan of the wicked is foreign to my way of thinking.)

19 The righteous saw it and were glad, and the innocent made fun of them by saying,

20 'Indeed, their wealth has been wiped out, and a fire has burned up what [little] they had left.'

21 "Be in harmony and at peace with God. In this way you will have prosperity.

22 Accept instruction from his mouth, and keep his words in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will prosper. If you put wrongdoing out of your tent,

24 and lay your gold down in the dust, and put your gold from Ophir among the pebbles in the rivers,

25 then the Almighty will become your gold and your large supply of silver.

26 Then you will be happy with the Almighty and look up toward God.

27 You will pray to him, and he will listen to you, and you will keep your vow to him.

Job 22:17-27 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.