22:1 | Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
22:2 | "Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise man benefit him? |
22:3 | What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless? |
22:4 | "Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you? |
22:5 | Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? |
22:6 | You demanded security from your brothers for no reason; you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked. |
22:7 | You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry, |
22:8 | though you were a powerful man, owning land--an honored man, living on it. |
22:9 | And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless. |
22:10 | That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you, |
22:11 | why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you. |
22:12 | "Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars! |
22:13 | Yet you say, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness? |
22:14 | Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.' |
22:15 | Will you keep to the old path that evil men have trod? |
22:16 | They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood. |
22:17 | They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?' |
22:18 | Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked. |
22:19 | "The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, |
22:20 | 'Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.' |
22:21 | "Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. |
22:22 | Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. |
22:23 | If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent |
22:24 | and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, |
22:25 | then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. |
22:26 | Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. |
22:27 | You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. |
22:28 | What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways. |
22:29 | When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast. |
22:30 | He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands." |
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