Job 22:5–14

5 Is not your wickedness great?

Are not your sins endless?

6 You demanded security from your relatives for no reason;

you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.

7 You gave no water to the weary

and you withheld food from the hungry,

8 though you were a powerful man, owning land—

an honored man, living on it.

9 And you sent widows away empty-handed

and broke the strength of the fatherless.

10 That is why snares are all around you,

why sudden peril terrifies you,

11 why it is so dark you cannot see,

and why a flood of water covers you.

12 “Is not God in the heights of heaven?

And see how lofty are the highest stars!

13 Yet you say, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such darkness?

14 Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us

as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’

5 Is not thy wickedness great?

And thine iniquities infinite?

6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought,

And stripped the naked of their clothing.

7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,

And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

8 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth;

And the honourable man dwelt in it.

9 Thou hast sent widows away empty,

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 abundance of waters cover thee.

12 Is not God in the height of heaven?

And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

13 And thou sayest, How doth God know?

Can he judge through the dark cloud?

14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not;

And he walketh in the circuit of heaven.

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.’

5 Is not your wickedness great,

And your iniquity without end?

6 For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason,

And stripped the naked of their clothing.

7 You have not given the weary water to drink,

And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

8 But the mighty man possessed the land,

And the honorable man dwelt in it.

9 You have sent widows away empty,

And the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

10 Therefore snares are all around you,

And sudden fear troubles you,

11 Or darkness so that you cannot see;

And an abundance of water covers you.

12 “Is not God in the height of heaven?

And see the highest stars, how lofty they are!

13 And you say, ‘What does God know?

Can He judge through the deep darkness?

14 Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see,

And He walks above the circle of heaven.’

5 No! It is because your evil is without limits

and your sins have no end.

6 You took your brothers’ things for a debt they didn’t owe;

you took clothes from people and left them naked.

7 You did not give water to tired people,

and you kept food from the hungry.

8 You were a powerful man who owned land;

you were honored and lived in the land.

9 But you sent widows away empty-handed,

and you mistreated orphans.

10 That is why traps are all around you

and sudden danger frightens you.

11 That is why it is so dark you cannot see

and a flood of water covers you.

12 “God is in the highest part of heaven.

See how high the highest stars are!

13 But you ask, ‘What does God know?

Can he judge us through the dark clouds?

14 Thick clouds cover him so he cannot see us

as he walks around high up in the sky.’

5 Is not thy wickedness great?

Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.

6 For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,

And stripped the naked of their clothing.

7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,

And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

8 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth;

And the honorable man, he dwelt in it.

9 Thou hast sent widows away empty,

And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

10 Therefore snares are round about thee,

And sudden fear troubleth thee,

11 Or darkness, so that thou canst not see,

And abundance of waters cover thee.

12 Is not God in the height of heaven?

And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

13 And thou sayest, What doth God know?

Can he judge through the thick darkness?

14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not;

And he walketh on the vault of heaven.

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 •God 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.

5 “Aren’t you really very wicked? 

Is there no end to your wrongdoing? 

6 For no reason you take your brothers’ goods as security for a loan 

and strip them of their clothes.

7 You don’t even give a tired person a drink of water, 

and you take food away from hungry people. 

8 A strong person owns the land. 

A privileged person lives in it. 

9 You send widows away empty-handed, 

and the arms of orphans are broken. 

10 That is why traps are all around you 

and great fear suddenly grips you. 

11 ⸤That is why⸥ darkness surrounds you and you cannot see 

and a flood of water covers you. 

12 “Isn’t God high above in the heavens? 

Look how high the highest stars are! 

13 You ask, ‘What does God know? 

Can he judge ⸤anything⸥ from behind a dark cloud? 

14 Thick clouds surround him so that he cannot see. 

He walks above the clouds.’ 

5 Isn’t your wickedness abundant

and aren’t your iniquities endless?

6 For you took collateral from your brothers without cause,

stripping off their clothes and leaving them naked.

7 You gave no water to the thirsty

and withheld food from the famished,

8 while the land belonged to a powerful man

and an influential man lived on it.

9 You sent widows away empty-handed,

and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

10 Therefore snares surround you,

and sudden dread terrifies you,

11 or darkness, so you cannot see,

and a flood of water covers you.

12 Isn’t God as high as the heavens?

And look at the highest stars—how lofty they are!

13 Yet you say: “What does God know?

Can He judge through thick darkness?

14 Clouds veil Him so that He cannot see,

as He walks on the circle of the sky.”

5 Is not your wickedness great?

There is no end to your iniquities.

6 For you have exacted pledges from your family for no reason

and stripped the naked of their clothing.

7 You have given no water to the weary to drink,

and you have withheld bread from the hungry.

8 The powerful possess the land,

and the favored live in it.

9 You have sent widows away empty-handed,

and the arms of the orphans you have crushed.

10 Therefore snares are around you,

and sudden terror overwhelms you,

11 or darkness so that you cannot see;

a flood of water covers you.

12 “Is not God high in the heavens?

See the highest stars, how lofty they are!

13 Therefore you say, ‘What does God know?

Can he judge through the deep darkness?

14 Thick clouds enwrap him, so that he does not see,

and he walks on the dome of heaven.’

5 Is not your wickedness great,

and there is no end to your iniquities?

6 “Indeed, you have required a pledge from your family for nothing,

and you have stripped off the clothes of the naked.

7 You have given no water for the weary to drink,

and you withheld food from the hungry.

8 And the land belongs to the man of power,

and the favored lives in it.

9 You have sent widows away empty-handed,

and the arms of orphans were crushed.

10 Therefore trapping nets are all around you,

and panic suddenly terrifies you,

11 or it is so dark you cannot see,

and a flood of water covers you.

12 “Is not God in the height of the heavens?

But see how lofty are the highest stars.

13 And you ask, ‘What does God know?

Can he judge through deep gloom?

14 Thick clouds are a covering for him, so that he does not see;

and he walks about on the dome of heaven.’

5 Haven’t you done many evil things?

Don’t you sin again and again?

6 You took clothes away from your relatives

just because they owed you some money.

You left them naked for no reason at all.

7 You didn’t give any water to people who were tired.

You held food back from those who were hungry.

8 You did it even though you were honored and powerful.

You owned land and lived on it.

9 But you sent widows away without anything.

You mistreated children whose fathers had died.

10 That’s why traps have been set all around you.

That’s why sudden danger terrifies you.

11 That’s why it’s so dark you can’t even see.

That’s why a flood covers you up.

12 “Isn’t God in the highest parts of heaven?

See how high the highest stars are!

13 But you still say, ‘What does God know?

Can he see through the darkest clouds to judge us?

14 He goes around in the highest heavens.

Thick clouds keep him from seeing us.’

5 “Is not your wickedness great,

And your iniquities without end?

6 “For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,

And stripped men naked.

7 “To the weary you have given no water to drink,

And from the hungry you have withheld bread.

8 “But the earth belongs to the mighty man,

And the honorable man dwells in it.

9 “You have sent widows away empty,

And the strength of the orphans has been crushed.

10 “Therefore snares surround you,

And sudden dread terrifies you,

11 Or darkness, so that you cannot see,

And an abundance of water covers you.

12 “Is not God in the height of heaven?

Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!

13 “You say, ‘What does God know?

Can He judge through the thick darkness?

14 ‘Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;

And He walks on the vault of heaven.’