| Chapter 22 |
1 | And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, |
2 | Can a man be profitable to łGod? surely it is unto himself that the wise man is profitable. |
3 | Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if thou art righteous? And is it gain [to him] that thou makest thy ways perfect? |
4 | Will he reason with thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment? |
5 | Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities without end? |
6 | For thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped off the clothing of the naked. |
7 | Thou hast not given water to the fainting to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. |
8 | But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it. |
9 | Widows hast thou sent empty away, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. |
10 | Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; |
11 | Or darkness, that thou canst not see, and floods of waters cover thee. |
12 | Is not +God in the height of the heavens? And behold the summit of the stars: how exalted are they! |
13 | And thou sayest, What doth łGod know? will he judge through the dark cloud? |
14 | Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh on the vault of the heavens. |
15 | Dost thou mark the ancient path which wicked men have trodden? |
16 | Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood; |
17 | Who said unto łGod, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do to them? |
18 | Yet he filled their houses with good. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. |
19 | The righteous see it, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to scorn: |
20 | Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue? |
21 | Reconcile thyself now with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. |
22 | Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart. |
23 | If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. If thou remove unrighteousness far from thy tents, |
24 | And put the precious ore with the dust, and [the gold of] Ophir among the stones of the torrents, |
25 | Then the Almighty will be thy precious ore, and silver heaped up unto thee; |
26 | Yea, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto +God: |
27 | Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows; |
28 | And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and light shall shine upon thy ways. |
29 | When they are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes. |
30 | [Even] him that is not innocent shall he deliver; yea, he shall be delivered by the pureness of thy hands. |