Job, 22

¹ Elʹi·phaz the Teʹman·ite said in reply:

² “Can a man be of use to God? Can anyone with insight be of benefit to him?

³ Does the Almighty care^*1 that you are righteous, Or does he gain anything because you follow the course of integrity?

⁴ Will he punish you And enter into judgment with you for your reverence?

⁵ Is it not because your own wickedness is so great And there is no end to your errors?

⁶ For you seize a pledge from your brothers for no reason, And you strip people of their garments, leaving them naked.^*1

⁷ You do not give the tired one a drink of water, And you hold back food from the hungry.

⁸ The land belongs to the powerful man, And the favored one dwells in it.

⁹ But you sent away widows empty-handed, And you crushed the arms of fatherless children.^*1

¹⁰ That is why you are surrounded by traps,^*1 And sudden terrors frighten you;

¹¹ That is why it is so dark that you cannot see, And a flood of water covers you.

¹² Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how high all the stars are.

¹³ But you have said: ‘What does God really know? Can he judge through thick gloom?

¹⁴ Clouds screen him off so that he does not see As he walks about on the vault^*1 of heaven.’

¹⁵ Will you follow the ancient path That wicked men have walked,

¹⁶ Men who have been snatched away^*1 before their time, Whose foundation was washed away by a flood?^*2

¹⁷ They were saying to the true God: ‘Leave us alone!’ And ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’

¹⁸ Yet, he is the One who filled their houses with good things. (Such wicked thinking is far from my own.)

¹⁹ The righteous will see this and rejoice, And the innocent will mock them and say:

²⁰ ‘Our opponents have been destroyed, And a fire will consume what is left of them.’

²¹ Get to know Him, and you will be at peace; Then good things will come your way.

²² Accept the law from his mouth, And keep his sayings in your heart.

²³ If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you remove unrighteousness from your tent,

²⁴ If you would throw your gold^*1 into the dust And the gold of Oʹphir into the rocky ravines,^*2

²⁵ Then the Almighty will become your gold,^*1 And he will be your choicest silver.

²⁶ For then your delight will be in the Almighty, And you will lift up your face to God.

²⁷ You will entreat him, and he will hear you; And your vows you will pay.

²⁸ Whatever you decide to do will succeed, And light will shine upon your path.

²⁹ For you will be humiliated when you speak arrogantly, But he will save the humble.^*1

³⁰ He will rescue those who are innocent; So if your hands are clean, you will certainly be rescued.”