| Chapter 22 |
1 |
And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, |
2 |
Can a man be profitable to łGod? surely it is unto himself that the wise man is profitable. |
3 |
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if thou art righteous? And is it gain to him that thou makest thy ways perfect? |
4 |
Will he reason with thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment? |
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 łGod 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. |
15 |
Dost thou mark the ancient path which wicked men have trodden? |
16 |
Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood; |
17 |
Who said unto łGod, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do to them? |
18 |
Yet he filled their houses with good. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. |
19 |
The righteous see it, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to scorn: |
20 |
Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue? |
21 |
Reconcile thyself now with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. |
22 |
Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart. |
23 |
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. If thou remove unrighteousness far from thy tents, |
24 |
And put the precious ore with the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrents, |
25 |
Then the Almighty will be thy precious ore, and silver heaped up unto thee; |
26 |
Yea, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto +God: |
27 |
Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows; |
28 |
And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and light shall shine upon thy ways. |
29 |
When they are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes. |
30 |
Even him that is not innocent shall he deliver; yea, he shall be delivered by the pureness of thy hands. |