Job 22

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

1Then Eliphaz the Themanite answered, and said:

2Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?

2Can man be compared with God, even though he were of perfect knowledge?

3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?

3What doth it profit God if thou be just? or what dost thou give him if thy way be unspotted?

4Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?

4Shall he reprove thee for fear, and come with thee into judgment:

5Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?

5And not for thy manifold wickedness and thy infinite iniquities?

6For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

6For thou hast taken away the pledge of thy brethren without cause, and stripped them naked of their clothing.

7Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

7Thou hast not given water to the weary, thou hast withdrawn bread from the hungry.

8But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.

8In the strength of thy arm thou didst possess the land, and being the most mighty thou holdest it.

9Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

9Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless thou hast broken in pieces.

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

10Therefore art thou surrounded with snares, and sudden fear troubleth thee.

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

11And didst thou think that thou shouldst not see darkness, and that thou shouldst not be covered with the violence of overflowing waters?

12Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

12Dost not thou think that God is higher than heaven, and is elevated above the height of the stars?

13And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?

13And thou sayst: What doth God know? and he judgeth as it were through a mist.

14Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.

14The clouds are his covert, and he doth not consider our things, and he walketh about the poles of heaven.

15Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?

15Dost thou desire to keep the path of ages, which wicked men have spurned?

16Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

16Who were taken away before their time, and a flood hath overthrown their foundation.

17Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?

17Who said to God: Depart from us: and looked upon the Almighty as if he could do nothing:

18Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

18Whereas he had filled their houses with good things: whose way of thinking be far from me.

19The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

19The just shall see, and shall rejoice, and the innocent shall laugh them to scorn.

20Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

20Is not their exaltation cut down, and hath not fire devoured the remnants of them?

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

21Submit thyself then to him, and be at peace: and thereby thou shalt have the best fruits.

22Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

22Receive the law of his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.

23If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

23If thou wilt return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, and shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacle.

24Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

24He shall give for earth flint, and for flint torrents of gold.

25Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

25And the Almighty shall be against thy enemies, and silver shall be heaped together for thee.

26For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

26Then shalt thou abound in delights in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face to God.

27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.

27Thou shalt pray to him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay vows.

28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

28Thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall come to thee, and light shall shine in thy ways.

29When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

29For he that hath been humbled, shall be in glory: and he that shall bow down his eyes, he shall be saved.

30He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.

30The innocent shall be saved, and he shall be saved by the cleanness of his hands.