Job 22 | ESV | STEP | Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said :

‏ Job 22

Eliphaz Speaks: Job’s Wickedness Is Great

1 Then ^aEliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2 ^b“Can a man be profitable to God?
Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right,
or is it gain to him if you ^cmake your ways blameless?
4 Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you
and ^denters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your evil abundant?
There is no end to your iniquities.
6 For you have ^eexacted pledges of your brothers for nothing
^fand stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have given no water to the weary to drink,
and you have ^gwithheld bread from the hungry.
8 ^hThe man with power possessed the land,
and ⁱthe favored man lived in it.
9 You have ^jsent widows away empty,
and ^kthe arms of ^lthe fatherless were crushed.
10 Therefore ^msnares are all around you,
and sudden terror overwhelms you,
11 or ⁿdarkness, so that you cannot see,
and a ^oflood of ^pwater covers you.
12 “Is not God high in the heavens?
See ^qthe highest stars, how lofty they are!
13 But you say, ^r‘What does God know?
Can he judge through ^sthe deep darkness?
14 ^tThick clouds veil him, so that he does not see,
and he walks on the vault of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old way
that wicked men have trod?
16 They were snatched away ^ubefore their time;
their foundation was washed away.
17 They said to God, ^v‘Depart from us,’
and ^w‘What can the Almighty do to us?’ ^{▼▼Hebrew them}
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things—
but ^ythe counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 ^zThe righteous see it and are glad;
the innocent one ^aamocks at them,
20 saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,
and what they left ^abthe fire has consumed.’
21 ^ac“Agree with God, and ^adbe at peace;
thereby good will come to you.
22 Receive instruction from ^aehis mouth,
and ^aflay up his words in your heart.
23 If you ^agreturn to the Almighty you will be ^ahbuilt up;
if you ^airemove injustice far from your tents,
24 if you lay gold in ^ajthe dust,
and gold of ^akOphir among the stones of the torrent-bed,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold
and your precious silver.
26 For then you ^alwill delight yourself in the Almighty
and ^amlift up your face to God.
27 You will ^anmake your prayer to him, and he will hear you,
and you will ^aopay your vows.
28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,
and ^aplight will shine on your ways.
29 For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’; ^{▼▼Or you say, ‘It is exaltation’}
but he saves ^arthe lowly.
30 He ^asdelivers even the one who is not innocent,
who will be delivered through ^atthe cleanness of your hands.”