Job 22–24

Eliphaz’s Third Speech⁷⁹

^22:1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

^22:2“Is it to God that a strong man is of benefit?

Is it to him that even a wise man is profitable?¹

^22:3Is it of any special benefit² to the Almighty

that you should be righteous,

or is it any gain to him

that you make your ways blameless?³

^22:4Is it because of your piety⁴ that he rebukes you

and goes to judgment with you?⁵

^22:5Is not your wickedness great⁶

and is there no end to your iniquity?

^22:6“For you took pledges⁷ from your brothers

for no reason,

and you stripped the clothing from the naked.⁸

^22:7You gave the weary⁹ no water to drink

and from the hungry you withheld food.

^22:8Although you were a powerful man,¹⁰ owning land,¹¹

an honored man¹² living on it,¹³

^22:9you sent widows away empty-handed,

and the arms¹⁴ of the orphans you crushed.¹⁵

^22:10That is why snares surround you,

and why sudden fear terrifies you,

^22:11why it is so dark you cannot see,¹⁶

and why a flood¹⁷ of water covers you.

^22:12“Is not God on high in heaven?¹⁸

And see¹⁹ the lofty stars,²⁰ how high they are!

^22:13But you have said, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such deep darkness?²¹

^22:14Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us,²²

as he goes back and forth

in the vault²³ of heaven.’²⁴

^22:15Will you keep to the old path²⁵

that evil men have walked—

^22:16men²⁶ who were carried off²⁷ before their time,²⁸

when the flood²⁹ was poured out³⁰

on their foundations?³¹

^22:17They were saying to God, ‘Turn away from us,’

and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’³²

^22:18But it was he³³ who filled their houses

with good things—

yet the counsel of the wicked³⁴

was far from me.³⁵

^22:19The righteous see their destruction³⁶ and rejoice;

the innocent mock them scornfully,³⁷ saying,

^22:20‘Surely our enemies³⁸ are destroyed,

and fire consumes their wealth.’

^22:21“Reconcile yourself³⁹ with God,⁴⁰

and be at peace⁴¹ with him;

in this way your prosperity will be good.

^22:22Accept instruction⁴² from his mouth

and store up his words⁴³ in your heart.

^22:23If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up;⁴⁴

if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent,

^22:24and throw⁴⁵ your gold⁴⁶ in the dust—

your gold⁴⁷ of Ophir

among the rocks in the ravines—

^22:25then the Almighty himself will be your gold,⁴⁸

and the choicest⁴⁹ silver for you.

^22:26Surely then you will delight yourself⁵⁰ in the Almighty,

and will lift up your face toward God.

^22:27You will pray to him and he will hear you,

and you will fulfill your vows to him.⁵¹

^22:28Whatever you decide⁵² on a matter,

it will be established for you,

and light will shine on your ways.

^22:29When people are brought low⁵³ and you say

‘Lift them up!’⁵⁴

then he will save the downcast;⁵⁵

^22:30he will deliver even someone who is not innocent,⁵⁶

who will escape⁵⁷ through the cleanness of your hands.”

Job’s Reply to Eliphaz⁵⁸

^23:1Then Job answered:

^23:2“Even today my complaint is still bitter;¹

his² hand is heavy despite³ my groaning.

^23:3O that I knew⁴ where I might find him,⁵

that I could come⁶ to his place of residence!⁷

^23:4I would lay out my case⁸ before him

and fill my mouth with arguments.

^23:5I would know with what words⁹ he would answer me,

and understand what he would say to me.

^23:6Would he contend¹⁰ with me with great power?

No, he would only pay attention to me.¹¹

^23:7There¹² an upright person

could present his case¹³ before him,

and I would be delivered forever from my judge.

The Inaccessibility and Power of God

^23:8“If I go to the east, he is not there,

and to the west, yet I do not perceive him.

^23:9In the north¹⁴ when he is at work,¹⁵

I do not see him;¹⁶

when he turns¹⁷ to the south,

I see no trace of him.

^23:10But he knows the pathway that I take;¹⁸

if he tested me, I would come forth like gold.¹⁹

^23:11My feet²⁰ have followed²¹ his steps closely;

I have kept to his way and have not turned aside.²²

^23:12I have not departed from the commands of his lips;

I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my allotted portion.²³

^23:13But he is unchangeable,²⁴ and who can change²⁵ him?

Whatever he²⁶ has desired, he does.

^23:14For he fulfills his decree against me,²⁷

and many such things are his plans.²⁸

^23:15That is why I am terrified in his presence;

when I consider, I am afraid because of him.

^23:16Indeed, God has made my heart faint;²⁹

the Almighty has terrified me.

^23:17Yet I have not been silent because of the darkness,

because of the thick darkness

that covered my face.³⁰

The Apparent Indifference of God

^24:1“Why are times not appointed by¹ the Almighty?²

Why do those who know him not see his days?

^24:2Men³ move boundary stones;

they seize the flock and pasture them.⁴

^24:3They drive away the orphan’s donkey;

they take the widow’s ox as a pledge.

^24:4They turn the needy from the pathway,

and the poor of the land hide themselves together.⁵

^24:5Like⁶ wild donkeys in the desert

they⁷ go out to their labor,⁸

seeking diligently for food;

the wasteland provides⁹ food for them

and for their children.

^24:6They reap fodder¹⁰ in the field,

and glean¹¹ in the vineyard of the wicked.

^24:7They spend the night naked because they lack clothing;

they have no covering against the cold.

^24:8They are soaked by mountain rains

and huddle¹² in the rocks because they lack shelter.

^24:9The fatherless child is snatched¹³ from the breast,¹⁴

the infant of the poor is taken as a pledge.¹⁵

^24:10They go about naked, without clothing,

and go hungry while they carry the sheaves.¹⁶

^24:11They press out the olive oil between the rows of olive trees;¹⁷

they tread the winepresses while they are thirsty.¹⁸

^24:12From the city the dying¹⁹ groan,

and the wounded²⁰ cry out for help,

but God charges no one with wrongdoing.²¹

^24:13There are those²² who rebel against the light;

they do not know its ways

and they do not stay on its paths.

^24:14Before daybreak²³ the murderer rises up;

he kills the poor and the needy;

in the night he is²⁴ like a thief.²⁵

^24:15And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight,

thinking,²⁶ ‘No eye can see me,’

and covers his face with a mask.

^24:16In the dark the robber²⁷ breaks into houses,²⁸

but by day they shut themselves in;²⁹

they do not know the light.³⁰

^24:17For all of them,³¹ the morning is to them

like deep darkness;

they are friends with the terrors of darkness.

^24:1832 “You say,³³ ‘He is foam³⁴ on the face of the waters;³⁵

their portion of the land is cursed

so that no one goes to their vineyard.³⁶

^24:19The drought as well as the heat carry away

the melted snow;³⁷

so the grave³⁸ takes away those who have sinned.³⁹

^24:20The womb⁴⁰ forgets him,

the worm feasts on him,

no longer will he be remembered.

Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down.

^24:21He preys on⁴¹ the barren and childless woman,⁴²

and does not treat the widow well.

^24:22But God⁴³ drags off the mighty by his power;

when God⁴⁴ rises up against him, he has no faith in his life.⁴⁵

^24:23God⁴⁶ may let them rest in a feeling of security,⁴⁷

but he is constantly watching⁴⁸ all their ways.⁴⁹

^24:24They are exalted for a little while,

and then they are gone,⁵⁰

they are brought low⁵¹ like all others,

and gathered in,⁵²

and like a head of grain they are cut off.’⁵³

^24:25“If this is not so, who can prove me a liar

and reduce my words to nothing?”⁵⁴