Parallel Bible results for "job 22"

Job 22

The Message Bible MSG

1 Once again Eliphaz the Temanite took up his theme:

2 "Are any of us strong enough to give God a hand, or smart enough to give him advice?

3 So what if you were righteous - would God Almighty even notice? Even if you gave a perfect performance, do you think he'd applaud?

4 Do you think it's because he cares about your purity that he's disciplining you, putting you on the spot?

5 Hardly! It's because you're a first-class moral failure, because there's no end to your sins.

6 When people came to you for help, you took the shirts off their backs, exploited their helplessness.

7 You wouldn't so much as give a drink to the thirsty, or food, not even a scrap, to the hungry.

8 And there you sat, strong and honored by everyone, surrounded by immense wealth!

9 You turned poor widows away from your door; heartless, you crushed orphans.

10 Now you're the one trapped in terror, paralyzed by fear. Suddenly the tables have turned!

11 How do you like living in the dark, sightless, up to your neck in flood waters?

12 "You agree, don't you, that God is in charge? He runs the universe - just look at the stars!

13 Yet you dare raise questions: 'What does God know? From that distance and darkness, how can he judge?

14 He roams the heavens wrapped in clouds, so how can he see us?'

15 "Are you going to persist in that tired old line that wicked men and women have always used?

16 Where did it get them? They died young, flash floods sweeping them off to their doom.

17 They told God, 'Get lost! What good is God Almighty to us?'

18 And yet it was God who gave them everything they had. It's beyond me how they can carry on like this!

19 "Good people see bad people crash, and call for a celebration. Relieved, they crow,

20 'At last! Our enemies - wiped out. Everything they had and stood for is up in smoke!'

21 "Give in to God, come to terms with him and everything will turn out just fine.

22 Let him tell you what to do; take his words to heart.

23 Come back to God Almighty and he'll rebuild your life. Clean house of everything evil.

24 Relax your grip on your money and abandon your gold-plated luxury.

25 God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can imagine.

26 "You'll take delight in God, the Mighty One, and look to him joyfully, boldly.

27 You'll pray to him and he'll listen; he'll help you do what you've promised.

28 You'll decide what you want and it will happen; your life will be bathed in light.

29 To those who feel low you'll say, 'Chin up! Be brave!' and God will save them.

30 Yes, even the guilty will escape, escape through God's grace in your life."

New Living Translation NLT

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2 “Can a person do anything to help God? Can even a wise person be helpful to him?

3 Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?

4 Is it because you’re so pious that he accuses you and brings judgment against you?

5 No, it’s because of your wickedness! There’s no limit to your sins.

6 “For example, you must have lent money to your friend and demanded clothing as security. Yes, you stripped him to the bone.

7 You must have refused water for the thirsty and food for the hungry.

8 You probably think the land belongs to the powerful and only the privileged have a right to it!

9 You must have sent widows away empty-handed and crushed the hopes of orphans.

10 That is why you are surrounded by traps and tremble from sudden fears.

11 That is why you cannot see in the darkness, and waves of water cover you.

12 “God is so great—higher than the heavens, higher than the farthest stars.

13 But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing! How can he judge through the thick darkness?

14 For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us. He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’

15 “Will you continue on the old paths where evil people have walked?

16 They were snatched away in the prime of life, the foundations of their lives washed away.

17 For they said to God, ‘Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?’

18 Yet he was the one who filled their homes with good things, so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.

19 “The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed, and the innocent will laugh in contempt.

20 They will say, ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed. The last of them have been consumed in the fire.’

21 “Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you.

22 Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored— so clean up your life.

24 If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river,

25 the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver!

26 “Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up to God.

27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him.

28 You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you.

29 If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’ God will save them.

30 Even sinners will be rescued; they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”