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The Third Dialogue(A)

22 (B)1-2 Is there anyone, even the wisest,
    who could ever be of use to God?
Does your doing right benefit God,
    or does your being good help him at all?
It is not because you stand in awe of God
    that he reprimands you and brings you to trial.
No, it's because you have sinned so much;
    it's because of all the evil you do.
To make a brother repay you the money he owed,
    you took away his clothes and left him nothing to wear.
You refused water to those who were tired,
    and refused to feed those who were hungry.
You used your power and your position
    to take over the whole land.
You not only refused to help widows,
    but you also robbed and mistreated orphans.
10 So now there are pitfalls all around you,
    and suddenly you are full of fear.
11 It has grown so dark that you cannot see,
    and a flood overwhelms you.

12 Doesn't God live in the highest heavens
    and look down on the stars, even though they are high?
13 And yet you ask, “What does God know?
    He is hidden by clouds—how can he judge us?”
14 You think the thick clouds keep him from seeing,
    as he walks on the dome of the sky.

15 Are you determined to walk in the paths
    that evil people have always followed?
16 Even before their time had come,
    they were washed away by a flood.
17 These are the ones who rejected God
    and believed that he could do nothing to them.
18 And yet it was God who made them prosperous—
    I can't understand the thoughts of the wicked.
19 Good people are glad and the innocent laugh
    when they see the wicked punished.
20 All that the wicked own is destroyed,
    and fire burns up anything that is left.

21 Now, Job, make peace with God
    and stop treating him like an enemy;
    if you do, then he will bless you.
22 Accept the teaching he gives;
    keep his words in your heart.
23 Yes, you must humbly[a] return to God
    and put an end to all the evil
    that is done in your house.
24 Throw away your gold;
    dump your finest gold in the dry stream bed.
25 Let Almighty God be your gold,
    and let him be silver, piled high for you.
26 Then you will always trust in God
    and find that he is the source of your joy.
27 When you pray, he will answer you,
    and you will keep the vows you made.
28 You will succeed in all you do,
    and light will shine on your path.
29 God brings down the proud[b]
    and saves the humble.
30 He will rescue you if you are innocent,[c]
    if what you do is right.[d]

Footnotes

  1. Job 22:23 One ancient translation humbly; Hebrew be built up.
  2. Job 22:29 Probable text proud; Hebrew unclear.
  3. Job 22:30 Some ancient translations innocent; Hebrew not innocent.
  4. Job 22:30 Verse 30 in Hebrew is unclear.

Eliphaz

22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite(A) replied:

“Can a man be of benefit to God?(B)
    Can even a wise person benefit him?(C)
What pleasure(D) would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?(E)
    What would he gain if your ways were blameless?(F)

“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you
    and brings charges against you?(G)
Is not your wickedness great?
    Are not your sins(H) endless?(I)
You demanded security(J) from your relatives for no reason;(K)
    you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.(L)
You gave no water(M) to the weary
    and you withheld food from the hungry,(N)
though you were a powerful man, owning land(O)
    an honored man,(P) living on it.(Q)
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)