Job 22:1–31:40

Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,

2Can a man be profitable unto God?

Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself.

3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?

Or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?

4Is it for thy fear of him that he reproveth thee,

That he entereth with thee into judgment?

5Is not thy wickedness great?

Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.

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

And stripped the naked of their clothing.

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

And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

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

And the honorable man, he dwelt in it.

9Thou hast sent widows away empty,

And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

10Therefore snares are round about thee,

And sudden fear troubleth thee,

11Or darkness, so that thou canst not see,

And abundance of waters cover thee.

12Is not God in the height of heaven?

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

13And thou sayest, What doth God know?

Can he judge through the thick darkness?

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

And he walketh on the vault of heaven.

15Wilt thou keep the old way

Which wicked men have trodden?

16Who were snatched away before their time,

Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,

17Who said unto God, Depart from us;

And, What can the Almighty do for us?

18Yet he filled their houses with good things:

But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

19The righteous see it, and are glad;

And the innocent laugh them to scorn,

20Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off,

And the remnant of them the fire hath consumed.

21Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:

Thereby good shall come unto thee.

22Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth,

And lay up his words in thy heart.

23If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up,

If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.

24And lay thou thy treasure in the dust,

And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;

25And the Almighty will be thy treasure,

And precious silver unto thee.

26For then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty,

And shalt lift up thy face unto God.

27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee;

And thou shalt pay thy vows.

28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee;

And light shall shine upon thy ways.

29When they cast thee down, thou shalt say, There is lifting up;

And the humble person he will save.

30He will deliver even him that is not innocent:

Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.

23 Then Job answered and said,

2Even to-day is my complaint rebellious:

My stroke is heavier than my groaning.

3Oh that I knew where I might find him!

That I might come even to his seat!

4I would set my cause in order before him,

And fill my mouth with arguments.

5I would know the words which he would answer me,

And understand what he would say unto me.

6Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?

Nay; but he would give heed unto me.

7There the upright might reason with him;

So should I be delivered for ever from my judge.

8Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;

And backward, but I cannot perceive him;

9On the left hand, when he doth work, but I cannot behold him;

He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.

10But he knoweth the way that I take;

When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

11My foot hath held fast to his steps;

His way have I kept, and turned not aside.

12I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips;

I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.

13But he is in one mind, and who can turn him?

And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth.

14For he performeth that which is appointed for me:

And many such things are with him.

15Therefore am I terrified at his presence;

When I consider, I am afraid of him.

16For God hath made my heart faint,

And the Almighty hath terrified me;

17Because I was not cut off before the darkness,

Neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.

24 Why are times not laid up by the Almighty?

And why do not they that know him see his days?

2There are that remove the landmarks;

They violently take away flocks, and feed them.

3They drive away the ass of the fatherless;

They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.

4They turn the needy out of the way:

The poor of the earth all hide themselves.

5Behold, as wild asses in the desert

They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food;

The wilderness yieldeth them bread for their children.

6They cut their provender in the field;

And they glean the vintage of the wicked.

7They lie all night naked without clothing,

And have no covering in the cold.

8They are wet with the showers of the mountains,

And embrace the rock for want of a shelter.

9There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast,

And take a pledge of the poor;

10So that they go about naked without clothing,

And being hungry they carry the sheaves.

11They make oil within the walls of these men;

They tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.

12From out of the populous city men groan,

And the soul of the wounded crieth out:

Yet God regardeth not the folly.

13These are of them that rebel against the light;

They know not the ways thereof,

Nor abide in the paths thereof.

14The murderer riseth with the light;

He killeth the poor and needy;

And in the night he is as a thief.

15The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight,

Saying, No eye shall see me:

And he disguiseth his face.

16In the dark they dig through houses:

They shut themselves up in the day-time;

They know not the light.

17For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness;

For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.

18Swiftly they pass away upon the face of the waters;

Their portion is cursed in the earth:

They turn not into the way of the vineyards.

19Drought and heat consume the snow waters:

So doth Sheol those that have sinned.

20The womb shall forget him;

The worm shall feed sweetly on him;

He shall be no more remembered;

And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.

21He devoureth the barren that beareth not,

And doeth not good to the widow.

22Yet God preserveth the mighty by his power:

He riseth up that hath no assurance of life.

23God giveth them to be in security, and they rest thereon;

And his eyes are upon their ways.

24They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone;

Yea, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others,

And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.

25And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar,

And make my speech nothing worth?

25 Then answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said,

2Dominion and fear are with him;

He maketh peace in his high places.

3Is there any number of his armies?

And upon whom doth not his light arise?

4How then can man be just with God?

Or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?

5Behold, even the moon hath no brightness,

And the stars are not pure in his sight:

6How much less man, that is a worm!

And the son of man, that is a worm!

26 Then Job answered and said,

2How hast thou helped him that is without power!

How hast thou saved the arm that hath no strength!

3How hast thou counselled him that hath no wisdom,

And plentifully declared sound knowledge!

4To whom hast thou uttered words?

And whose spirit came forth from thee?

5They that are deceased tremble

Beneath the waters and the inhabitants thereof.

6Sheol is naked before God,

And Abaddon hath no covering.

7He stretcheth out the north over empty space,

And hangeth the earth upon nothing.

8He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds;

And the cloud is not rent under them.

9He incloseth the face of his throne,

And spreadeth his cloud upon it.

10He hath described a boundary upon the face of the waters,

Unto the confines of light and darkness.

11The pillars of heaven tremble

And are astonished at his rebuke.

12He stirreth up the sea with his power,

And by his understanding he smiteth through Rahab.

13By his Spirit the heavens are garnished;

His hand hath pierced the swift serpent.

14Lo, these are but the outskirts of his ways:

And how small a whisper do we hear of him!

But the thunder of his power who can understand?

27 And Job again took up his parable, and said,

2As God liveth, who hath taken away my right,

And the Almighty, who hath vexed my soul:

3(For my life is yet whole in me,

And the spirit of God is in my nostrils);

4Surely my lips shall not speak unrighteousness,

Neither shall my tongue utter deceit.

5Far be it from me that I should justify you:

Till I die I will not put away mine integrity from me.

6My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go:

My heart shall not reproach me so long as I live.

7Let mine enemy be as the wicked,

And let him that riseth up against me be as the unrighteous.

8For what is the hope of the godless, though he get him gain,

When God taketh away his soul?

9Will God hear his cry,

When trouble cometh upon him?

10Will he delight himself in the Almighty,

And call upon God at all times?

11I will teach you concerning the hand of God;

That which is with the Almighty will I not conceal.

12Behold, all ye yourselves have seen it;

Why then are ye become altogether vain?

13This is the portion of a wicked man with God,

And the heritage of oppressors, which they receive from the Almighty:

14If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword;

And his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread.

15Those that remain of him shall be buried in death,

And his widows shall make no lamentation.

16Though he heap up silver as the dust,

And prepare raiment as the clay;

17He may prepare it, but the just shall put it on,

And the innocent shall divide the silver.

18He buildeth his house as the moth,

And as a booth which the keeper maketh.

19He lieth down rich, but he shall not be gathered to his fathers;

He openeth his eyes, and he is not.

20Terrors overtake him …