Job 22
New International Version - Job 22 << | >> 123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142 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.'