Chapter 22

And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

Can a man be profitable to ùGod? surely it is unto himself that the wise man is profitable.

Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if thou art righteous? And is it gain [to him] that thou makest thy ways perfect?

Will he reason with thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment?

Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities without end?

For thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped off the clothing of the naked.

Thou hast not given water to the fainting to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it.

Widows hast thou sent empty away, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;

Or darkness, that thou canst not see, and floods of waters cover thee.

Is not +God in the height of the heavens? And behold the summit of the stars: how exalted are they!

And thou sayest, What doth ùGod know? will he judge through the dark cloud?

Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh on the vault of the heavens.

Dost thou mark the ancient path which wicked men have trodden?

Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood;

Who said unto ùGod, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do to them?

Yet he filled their houses with good. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

The righteous see it, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to scorn:

Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue?

Reconcile thyself now with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.

If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. If thou remove unrighteousness far from thy tents,

And put the precious ore with the dust, and [the gold of] Ophir among the stones of the torrents,

Then the Almighty will be thy precious ore, and silver heaped up unto thee;

Yea, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto +God:

Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows;

And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and light shall shine upon thy ways.

When they are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes.

[Even] him that is not innocent shall he deliver; yea, he shall be delivered by the pureness of thy hands.