Job 22–24

The Third Speech of Eliphaz

22Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied,

²“Can any man be of benefit to God?

Can even a wise man be of any help to him?

³Job, what pleasure would it give the Mighty One if you were right?

What would he get if you were completely honest?

⁴“You say you have respect for him.

Is that why he corrects you?

Is that why he brings charges against you?

⁵Haven’t you done many evil things?

Don’t you sin again and again?

⁶You took clothes away from your relatives

just because they owed you some money.

You left them naked for no reason at all.

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

You held food back from those who were hungry.

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

You owned land and lived on it.

⁹But you sent widows away without anything.

You mistreated children whose fathers had died.

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

That’s why sudden danger terrifies you.

¹¹That’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!

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

Can he see through the darkest clouds to judge us?

¹⁴He goes around in the highest heavens.

Thick clouds keep him from seeing us.’

¹⁵Will you stay on the old path

that sinful people have walked on?

¹⁶They were carried off even before they died.

Their foundations were washed away by a flood.

¹⁷They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!

What can you do to us, you Mighty One?’

¹⁸But he was the one who filled their houses with good things.

So I don’t pay any attention to the advice they give.

¹⁹“Those who do what is right are joyful

when they see sinners destroyed.

Those who haven’t done anything wrong make fun of them.

²⁰They say, ‘Our enemies are completely destroyed.

Fire has burned up their wealth.’

²¹“Job, obey God and be at peace with him.

Then he will help you succeed.

²²Do what he teaches you to do.

Keep his words in your heart.

²³If you return to the Mighty One,

you will have what you had before.

But first you must remove

everything that is evil far from your tent.

²⁴You must throw your gold nuggets away.

You must toss your gold from Ophir into a valley.

²⁵Then the Mighty One himself will be your gold.

He’ll be like the finest silver to you.

²⁶You will find delight in the Mighty One.

You will honor God and trust in him.

²⁷You will pray to him, and he will hear you.

You will keep the promises you made to him.

²⁸What you decide to do will be done.

Light will shine on the path you take.

²⁹When people are brought low you will say, ‘Lift them up!’

Then God will help them.

³⁰He’ll even save those who are guilty.

He’ll save them because your hands are clean.”

Job’s Reply

23Job replied,

²“Even today my problems are more than I can handle.

In spite of my groans, God’s hand is heavy on me.

³I wish I knew where I could find him!

I wish I could go to the place where he lives!

⁴I would state my case to him.

I’d give him all of my arguments.

⁵I’d find out what his answers would be.

I’d think about what he would say.

⁶Would he oppose me with his great power?

No. He wouldn’t bring charges against me.

⁷I’m an honest person. I could state my case to him.

Then my Judge would tell me once and for all that I’m not guilty.

⁸“But if I go to the east, God isn’t there.

If I go to the west, I don’t find him.

⁹When he’s working in the north, I don’t see him there.

When he turns to the south, I don’t see him there either.

¹⁰But he knows every step I take.

When he has put me to the test,

I’ll come out as pure as gold.

¹¹My feet have closely followed his steps.

I’ve stayed on his path without turning away.

¹²I haven’t disobeyed his commands.

I’ve treasured his words more than my daily bread.

¹³“But he’s the only God. Who can oppose him?

He does anything he wants to do.

¹⁴He carries out his plans against me.

And he still has many other plans just like them.

¹⁵That’s why I’m so terrified.

When I think about all of this, I’m afraid of him.

¹⁶God has made my heart weak.

The Mighty One has filled me with terror.

¹⁷But even the darkness of death won’t make me silent.

When the darkness of the grave covers my face, I won’t be quiet.

24“Why doesn’t the Mighty One set a time for judging sinful people?

Why do those who know him have to keep waiting for that day?

²People move their neighbor’s boundary stones.

They steal their neighbor’s flocks.

³They take away the donkeys

that belong to children whose fathers have died.

They take a widow’s ox until she has paid what she owes.

⁴They push those who are needy out of their way.

They force all of the poor people in the land to go into hiding.

⁵The poor are like wild donkeys in the desert.

They have to go around looking for food.

The dry and empty land provides the only food for their children.

⁶The poor go to the fields and get a little grain.

They gather up what is left in the vineyards of sinners.

⁷The poor don’t have any clothes. So they spend the night naked.

They don’t have anything to cover themselves in the cold.

⁸They are soaked by mountain rains.

They hug the rocks because they don’t have anything to keep them warm.

⁹Children whose fathers have died

are torn away from their mothers.

A poor person’s baby is taken away to pay back what is owed.

¹⁰The poor don’t have any clothes. They go around naked.

They carry bundles of grain, but they still go hungry.

¹¹They work very hard as they crush olives.

They stomp on grapes in winepresses,

but they are still thirsty.

¹²The groans of those who are dying are heard from the city.

Those who are wounded cry out for help.

But God doesn’t charge anyone with doing what is wrong.

¹³“Some people hate it when daylight comes.

In the daytime they never walk outside.

¹⁴When daylight is gone, murderers get up.

They kill poor people and those who are in need.

In the night they sneak around like robbers.

¹⁵Those who commit adultery wait until the sun goes down.

They think, ‘No one will see us.’

They keep their faces hidden.

¹⁶In the dark, people break into houses.

But by day they shut themselves in.

They don’t want anything to do with the light.

¹⁷The deepest darkness is like morning to them.

The terrors of darkness are their friends.

¹⁸“But sinners are like bubbles on the surface of water.

Their share of the land is under God’s curse.

So no one goes to their vineyards.

¹⁹Melted snow disappears when the air is hot and dry.

And sinners disappear when they go down into their graves.

²⁰Even their mothers forget them.

The worms in their graves eat them up.

No one remembers sinful people anymore.

They are cut down like trees.

²¹They mistreat women who aren’t able to have children.

They aren’t kind to widows.

²²But God is powerful.

He even drags away people who are strong.

When he rises up against them,

they can never be sure they are safe.

²³God might let them rest and feel secure.

But his eyes see how they live.

²⁴For a little while they are honored.

Then they are gone.

They are brought low.

And they die like everyone else.

They are cut off like heads of grain.

²⁵“Who can prove that what I’m saying is wrong?

Who can prove that my words aren’t true?”