Job 22 — Legacy Standard Bible

Eliphaz Says Job Must Repent

22Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

²“Can a mighty ^aman be of use to God,Or an insightful man be useful to himself?³“Is there any pleasure to ¹the Almighty if you are righteous,Or profit if you make your ways perfect?⁴“Is it because of your reverent fear that He reproves you,That He ^aenters into judgment against you?⁵“Is not ^ayour evil great,And your iniquities without end?⁶“For you have ^ataken pledges of your brothers without cause,And ^bstripped the clothing of the naked.⁷“To the weary you have ^agiven no water to drink,And from the hungry you have ^bwithheld bread.⁸“But the earth ^abelongs to the ^bmighty man,And ^cthe ¹highly respected man inhabits it.⁹“You have sent ^awidows away empty,And the ¹might of the ^borphans has been crushed.¹⁰“Therefore ^asnares surround you,And sudden ^bdread terrifies you,¹¹Or ^adarkness, so that you cannot see,And an ^babundance of water covers you.¹²“Is not God ^ain the height of heaven?Look also at the ¹distant stars, how high they are!¹³“You say, ‘^aWhat does God know?Can He judge through the dense gloom?¹⁴‘^aClouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;And He walks on the ¹vault of heaven.’¹⁵“Will you keep to the ancient pathWhich ^awicked men have trod,¹⁶Who were snatched away ^abefore their time,Whose ^bfoundations were ¹washed away by a river?¹⁷“They ^asaid to God, ‘Depart from us!’And ‘What can ¹the Almighty do to them?’¹⁸“Yet He ^afilled their houses with good things,But ^bthe counsel of the wicked is far from me.¹⁹“The ^arighteous see and are glad,And the innocent mock them,²⁰Saying, ‘Truly those who rise against us are wiped out,And their ¹abundance ^athe fire has consumed.’²¹“¹^,^aYield now and be at peace with Him;Thereby good will come to you.²²“Please receive ¹^,^ainstruction from His mouthAnd set His words in your heart.²³“If you ^areturn to ¹the Almighty, you will be ²restored;If you ^bremove unrighteousness far from your tent,²⁴And ^aput your ¹gold in the dust,And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,²⁵Then ¹the Almighty will be your ²goldAnd choice silver to you.²⁶“For then you will ^adelight in ¹the AlmightyAnd lift up your face to God.²⁷“You will ^aentreat Him, and ^bHe will hear you;And you will pay your vows.²⁸“You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;And ^alight will shine on your ways.²⁹“When ¹some are cast down, you will speak with ²confidence,And the ³^,^ahumble person He will save.³⁰“He will provide escape for one who is not innocent,And he will ^aescape through the cleanness of your hands.”