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Job 22-24
New Living Translation
Job 22-24
New Living Translation
Eliphaz’s Third Response to Job
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 “Can a person do anything to help God?
Can even a wise person be helpful to him?
3 Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous?
Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?
4 Is it because you’re so pious that he accuses you
and brings judgment against you?
5 No, it’s because of your wickedness!
There’s no limit to your sins.
6 “For example, you must have lent money to your friend
and demanded clothing as security.
Yes, you stripped him to the bone.
7 You must have refused water for the thirsty
and food for the hungry.
8 You probably think the land belongs to the powerful
and only the privileged have a right to it!
9 You must have sent widows away empty-handed
and crushed the hopes of orphans.
10 That is why you are surrounded by traps
and tremble from sudden fears.
11 That is why you cannot see in the darkness,
and waves of water cover you.
12 “God is so great—higher than the heavens,
higher than the farthest stars.
13 But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing!
How can he judge through the thick darkness?
14 For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us.
He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’
15 “Will you continue on the old paths
where evil people have walked?
16 They were snatched away in the prime of life,
the foundations of their lives washed away.
17 For they said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’
18 Yet he was the one who filled their homes with good things,
so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.
19 “The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed,
and the innocent will laugh in contempt.
20 They will say, ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed.
The last of them have been consumed in the fire.’
21 “Submit to God, and you will have peace;
then things will go well for you.
22 Listen to his instructions,
and store them in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored—
so clean up your life.
24 If you give up your lust for money
and throw your precious gold into the river,
25 the Almighty himself will be your treasure.
He will be your precious silver!
26 “Then you will take delight in the Almighty
and look up to God.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you,
and you will fulfill your vows to him.
28 You will succeed in whatever you choose to do,
and light will shine on the road ahead of you.
29 If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’
God will save them.
30 Even sinners will be rescued;
they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”
Job’s Eighth Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
23 Then Job spoke again:
2 “My complaint today is still a bitter one,
and I try hard not to groan aloud.
3 If only I knew where to find God,
I would go to his court.
4 I would lay out my case
and present my arguments.
5 Then I would listen to his reply
and understand what he says to me.
6 Would he use his great power to argue with me?
No, he would give me a fair hearing.
7 Honest people can reason with him,
so I would be forever acquitted by my judge.
8 I go east, but he is not there.
I go west, but I cannot find him.
9 I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden.
I look to the south, but he is concealed.
10 “But he knows where I am going.
And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold.
11 For I have stayed on God’s paths;
I have followed his ways and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from his commands,
but have treasured his words more than daily food.
13 But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind?
Whatever he wants to do, he does.
14 So he will do to me whatever he has planned.
He controls my destiny.
15 No wonder I am so terrified in his presence.
When I think of it, terror grips me.
16 God has made me sick at heart;
the Almighty has terrified me.
17 Darkness is all around me;
thick, impenetrable darkness is everywhere.
Job Asks Why the Wicked Are Not Punished
24 “Why doesn’t the Almighty bring the wicked to judgment?
Why must the godly wait for him in vain?
2 Evil people steal land by moving the boundary markers.
They steal livestock and put them in their own pastures.
3 They take the orphan’s donkey
and demand the widow’s ox as security for a loan.
4 The poor are pushed off the path;
the needy must hide together for safety.
5 Like wild donkeys in the wilderness,
the poor must spend all their time looking for food,
searching even in the desert for food for their children.
6 They harvest a field they do not own,
and they glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
7 All night they lie naked in the cold,
without clothing or covering.
8 They are soaked by mountain showers,
and they huddle against the rocks for want of a home.
9 “The wicked snatch a widow’s child from her breast,
taking the baby as security for a loan.
10 The poor must go about naked, without any clothing.
They harvest food for others while they themselves are starving.
11 They press out olive oil without being allowed to taste it,
and they tread in the winepress as they suffer from thirst.
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the wounded cry for help,
yet God ignores their moaning.
13 “Wicked people rebel against the light.
They refuse to acknowledge its ways
or stay in its paths.
14 The murderer rises in the early dawn
to kill the poor and needy;
at night he is a thief.
15 The adulterer waits for the twilight,
saying, ‘No one will see me then.’
He hides his face so no one will know him.
16 Thieves break into houses at night
and sleep in the daytime.
They are not acquainted with the light.
17 The black night is their morning.
They ally themselves with the terrors of the darkness.
18 “But they disappear like foam down a river.
Everything they own is cursed,
and they are afraid to enter their own vineyards.
19 The grave[a] consumes sinners
just as drought and heat consume snow.
20 Their own mothers will forget them.
Maggots will find them sweet to eat.
No one will remember them.
Wicked people are broken like a tree in the storm.
21 They cheat the woman who has no son to help her.
They refuse to help the needy widow.
22 “God, in his power, drags away the rich.
They may rise high, but they have no assurance of life.
23 They may be allowed to live in security,
but God is always watching them.
24 And though they are great now,
in a moment they will be gone like all others,
cut off like heads of grain.
25 Can anyone claim otherwise?
Who can prove me wrong?”
Footnotes
- 24:19 Hebrew Sheol.
Job 22-24
New International Version
Job 22-24
New International Version
Eliphaz
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:
2 “Can a man be of benefit to God?(B)
Can even a wise person benefit him?(C)
3 What pleasure(D) would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?(E)
What would he gain if your ways were blameless?(F)
4 “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
and brings charges against you?(G)
5 Is not your wickedness great?
Are not your sins(H) endless?(I)
6 You demanded security(J) from your relatives for no reason;(K)
you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.(L)
7 You gave no water(M) to the weary
and you withheld food from the hungry,(N)
8 though you were a powerful man, owning land(O)—
an honored man,(P) living on it.(Q)
9 And you sent widows(R) away empty-handed(S)
and broke the strength of the fatherless.(T)
10 That is why snares(U) are all around you,(V)
why sudden peril terrifies you,(W)
11 why it is so dark(X) you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.(Y)
12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?(Z)
And see how lofty are the highest stars!
13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?(AA)
Does he judge through such darkness?(AB)
14 Thick clouds(AC) veil him, so he does not see us(AD)
as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’(AE)
15 Will you keep to the old path
that the wicked(AF) have trod?(AG)
16 They were carried off before their time,(AH)
their foundations(AI) washed away by a flood.(AJ)
17 They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!
What can the Almighty do to us?’(AK)
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,(AL)
so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.(AM)
19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;(AN)
the innocent mock(AO) them, saying,
20 ‘Surely our foes are destroyed,(AP)
and fire(AQ) devours their wealth.’
21 “Submit to God and be at peace(AR) with him;(AS)
in this way prosperity will come to you.(AT)
22 Accept instruction from his mouth(AU)
and lay up his words(AV) in your heart.(AW)
23 If you return(AX) to the Almighty, you will be restored:(AY)
If you remove wickedness far from your tent(AZ)
24 and assign your nuggets(BA) to the dust,
your gold(BB) of Ophir(BC) to the rocks in the ravines,(BD)
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,(BE)
the choicest silver for you.(BF)
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty(BG)
and will lift up your face(BH) to God.(BI)
27 You will pray to him,(BJ) and he will hear you,(BK)
and you will fulfill your vows.(BL)
28 What you decide on will be done,(BM)
and light(BN) will shine on your ways.(BO)
29 When people are brought low(BP) and you say, ‘Lift them up!’
then he will save the downcast.(BQ)
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent,(BR)
who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”(BS)
Job
23 Then Job replied:
2 “Even today my complaint(BT) is bitter;(BU)
his hand[a] is heavy in spite of[b] my groaning.(BV)
3 If only I knew where to find him;
if only I could go to his dwelling!(BW)
4 I would state my case(BX) before him
and fill my mouth with arguments.(BY)
5 I would find out what he would answer me,(BZ)
and consider what he would say to me.
6 Would he vigorously oppose me?(CA)
No, he would not press charges against me.(CB)
7 There the upright(CC) can establish their innocence before him,(CD)
and there I would be delivered forever from my judge.(CE)
8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there;
if I go to the west, I do not find him.
9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him;
when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him.(CF)
10 But he knows the way that I take;(CG)
when he has tested me,(CH) I will come forth as gold.(CI)
11 My feet have closely followed his steps;(CJ)
I have kept to his way without turning aside.(CK)
12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;(CL)
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.(CM)
13 “But he stands alone, and who can oppose him?(CN)
He does whatever he pleases.(CO)
14 He carries out his decree against me,
and many such plans he still has in store.(CP)
15 That is why I am terrified before him;(CQ)
when I think of all this, I fear him.(CR)
16 God has made my heart faint;(CS)
the Almighty(CT) has terrified me.(CU)
17 Yet I am not silenced by the darkness,(CV)
by the thick darkness that covers my face.
24 “Why does the Almighty not set times(CW) for judgment?(CX)
Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?(CY)
2 There are those who move boundary stones;(CZ)
they pasture flocks they have stolen.(DA)
3 They drive away the orphan’s donkey
and take the widow’s ox in pledge.(DB)
4 They thrust the needy(DC) from the path
and force all the poor(DD) of the land into hiding.(DE)
5 Like wild donkeys(DF) in the desert,
the poor go about their labor(DG) of foraging food;
the wasteland(DH) provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder(DI) in the fields
and glean in the vineyards(DJ) of the wicked.(DK)
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked;
they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.(DL)
8 They are drenched(DM) by mountain rains
and hug(DN) the rocks for lack of shelter.(DO)
9 The fatherless(DP) child is snatched(DQ) from the breast;
the infant of the poor is seized(DR) for a debt.(DS)
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked;(DT)
they carry the sheaves,(DU) but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces[c];
they tread the winepresses,(DV) yet suffer thirst.(DW)
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city,
and the souls of the wounded cry out for help.(DX)
But God charges no one with wrongdoing.(DY)
13 “There are those who rebel against the light,(DZ)
who do not know its ways
or stay in its paths.(EA)
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up,
kills(EB) the poor and needy,(EC)
and in the night steals forth like a thief.(ED)
15 The eye of the adulterer(EE) watches for dusk;(EF)
he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’(EG)
and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses,(EH)
but by day they shut themselves in;
they want nothing to do with the light.(EI)
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning;
they make friends with the terrors(EJ) of darkness.(EK)
18 “Yet they are foam(EL) on the surface of the water;(EM)
their portion of the land is cursed,(EN)
so that no one goes to the vineyards.(EO)
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow,(EP)
so the grave(EQ) snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them,
the worm(ER) feasts on them;(ES)
the wicked are no longer remembered(ET)
but are broken like a tree.(EU)
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman,
and to the widow they show no kindness.(EV)
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power;(EW)
though they become established,(EX) they have no assurance of life.(EY)
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security,(EZ)
but his eyes(FA) are on their ways.(FB)
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone;(FC)
they are brought low and gathered up like all others;(FD)
they are cut off like heads of grain.(FE)
25 “If this is not so, who can prove me false
and reduce my words to nothing?”(FF)
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.