Job 22–24

CHAPTER 22

Eliphaz Says Job Must Repent

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

²“Can a mighty ^aman be of use to God,

Or an insightful man be useful to himself?

³“Is there any pleasure to ¹the Almighty if you are righteous,

Or profit if you make your ways perfect?

⁴“Is it because of your reverent fear that He reproves you,

That He ^aenters into judgment against you?

⁵“Is not ^ayour evil great,

And your iniquities without end?

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

And ^bstripped the clothing of the naked.

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

And from the hungry you have ^bwithheld bread.

⁸“But the earth ^abelongs to the ^bmighty man,

And ^cthe ¹highly respected man inhabits it.

⁹“You have sent ^awidows away empty,

And the ¹might of the ^borphans has been crushed.

¹⁰“Therefore ^asnares surround you,

And sudden ^bdread terrifies you,

¹¹Or ^adarkness, so that you cannot see,

And an ^babundance of water covers you.

¹²“Is not God ^ain the height of heaven?

Look also at the ¹distant stars, how high they are!

¹³“You say, ‘^aWhat does God know?

Can He judge through the dense gloom?

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

And He walks on the ¹vault of heaven.’

¹⁵“Will you keep to the ancient path

Which ^awicked men have trod,

¹⁶Who were snatched away ^abefore their time,

Whose ^bfoundations were ¹washed away by a river?

¹⁷“They ^asaid to God, ‘Depart from us!’

And ‘What can ¹the Almighty do to them?’

¹⁸“Yet He ^afilled their houses with good things,

But ^bthe counsel of the wicked is far from me.

¹⁹“The ^arighteous see and are glad,

And the innocent mock them,

²⁰Saying, ‘Truly those who rise against us are wiped out,

And their ¹abundance ^athe fire has consumed.’

²¹“^1aYield now and be at peace with Him;

Thereby good will come to you.

²²“Please receive ^1ainstruction from His mouth

And set His words in your heart.

²³“If you ^areturn to ¹the Almighty, you will be ²restored;

If you ^bremove unrighteousness far from your tent,

²⁴And ^aput your ¹gold in the dust,

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

²⁵Then ¹the Almighty will be your ²gold

And choice silver to you.

²⁶“For then you will ^adelight in ¹the Almighty

And lift up your face to God.

²⁷“You will ^aentreat Him, and ^bHe will hear you;

And you will pay your vows.

²⁸“You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;

And ^alight will shine on your ways.

²⁹“When ¹some are cast down, you will speak with ²confidence,

And the ^3ahumble person He will save.

³⁰“He will provide escape for one who is not innocent,

And he will ^aescape through the cleanness of your hands.”

CHAPTER 23

Where Is God?

¹Then Job answered and said,

²“Even today my ^amusing is rebellion;

¹His hand is ^bheavy despite my groaning.

³“Oh that I knew where I might find Him,

That I might come to His seat!

⁴“I would ^aarrange my case for justice before Him

And fill my mouth with arguments.

⁵“I would know the words which He would ¹answer,

And discern what He would say to me.

⁶“Would He contend with me by ^athe greatness of His power?

No, surely He would pay attention to me.

⁷“There the upright would ^aargue with Him;

And I ¹would have ^bescaped forever from my Judge.

⁸“Behold, I go forward but He is not there,

And backward, but I ^acannot discern Him;

⁹When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;

He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.

¹⁰“But He knows the ¹way I take;

When He has ^atested me, I shall come forth as gold.

¹¹“My foot has ^aheld fast to His path;

I have kept His way and not turned aside.

¹²“I have not departed from the command of His lips;

I have treasured the ^awords of His mouth ¹more than my ²portion of food.

¹³“But He is unique and who can turn Him?

And what His soul desires, that He does.

¹⁴“For He performs what is apportioned for me,

And many such decrees are with Him.

¹⁵“Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;

I carefully consider, and I am in dread of Him.

¹⁶“It is God who has made my ^aheart faint,

And the Almighty who has dismayed me,

¹⁷But I ^aam not silenced by the darkness,

Nor ^bthick darkness which covers me.

CHAPTER 24

Who Can Prove Me a Liar?

¹“^aWhy are ¹times not stored up by the Almighty,

And why do those who know Him not behold ^bHis days?

²“¹Some ^amove the boundaries;

They seize and ²devour flocks.

³“They drive away the donkeys of the ^aorphans;

They take the ^bwidow’s ox for a pledge.

⁴“They push ^athe needy aside from the road;

The ^bafflicted of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.

⁵“Behold, as ^awild donkeys in the wilderness

They ^bgo forth seeking food earnestly in their work,

The desert becomes ¹for him a place of bread for his young ones.

⁶“They harvest their fodder in the field

And glean the vineyard of the wicked.

⁷“^aThey spend the night naked, without clothing,

And have no covering against the cold.

⁸“They are wet with the mountain rains

And hug the rock for want of a shelter.

⁹“¹Others snatch the ^aorphan from the breast,

And against the afflicted they take a pledge.

¹⁰“Those poor ones walk about naked without clothing,

And hungry ones carry the sheaves.

¹¹“Within the walls they produce oil;

They tread wine presses but thirst.

¹²“From the city men groan,

And the souls of the wounded cry out;

Yet God ^adoes not pay attention to such offense.

¹³“¹Others have been with those who rebel against the light;

They do not want to recognize its ways

Nor abide in its paths.

¹⁴“The murderer ^aarises at dawn;

He ^bkills the afflicted and the needy,

And at night he is as a thief.

¹⁵“The eye of the ^aadulterer keeps watch for the twilight,

Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’

And he ¹keeps his face hidden.

¹⁶“In the dark they ^adig into houses;

They ^bshut themselves up by day;

They do not know the light.

¹⁷“For the morning is the same to him as the shadow of death,

For he recognizes the ^aterrors of the shadow of death.

¹⁸“¹They are ^2ainsignificant on the surface of the water;

Their portion is ^bcursed on the earth.

They do not turn ³toward the ^cvineyards.

¹⁹“Drought and heat ^aseize the snow waters,

So does ^bSheol those who have sinned.

²⁰“A ^1amother will forget him;

The ^bworm feasts sweetly till he is ^cno longer remembered.

And unrighteousness will be broken ^dlike a tree.

²¹“He feeds on the barren woman who does not give birth

And does no good for ^athe widow.

²²“But He drags off the mighty by ^aHis power;

He rises, but ^bno one believes in his life.

²³“He provides them ^awith security, and they are supported;

And His ^beyes are on their ways.

²⁴“They are exalted a ^alittle while, then they are gone;

Moreover, they are ^bbrought low and like everything gathered up;

Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

²⁵“Now if it is not so, ^awho can prove me a liar,

And make my speech worthless?”