Job 22

Eliphaz Answers

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered:

2“Can anyone be of real use to God?

Can even a wise person do him good?

3Does it help the Almighty for you to be good?

Does he gain anything if you are innocent?

4Does God punish you for respecting him?

Does he bring you into court for this?

5No! It is because your evil is without limits

and your sins have no end.

6You took your brothers’ things for a debt they didn’t owe;

you took clothes from people and left them naked.

7You did not give water to tired people,

and you kept food from the hungry.

8You were a powerful man who owned land;

you were honored and lived in the land.

9But you sent widows away empty-handed,

and you mistreated orphans.

10That is why traps are all around you

and sudden danger frightens you.

11That is why it is so dark you cannot see

and a flood of water covers you.

12“God is in the highest part of heaven.

See how high the highest stars are!

13But you ask, ‘What does God know?

Can he judge us through the dark clouds?

14Thick clouds cover him so he cannot see us

as he walks around high up in the sky.’

15Are you going to stay on the old path

where evil people walk?

16They were carried away before their time was up,

and their foundations were washed away by a flood.

17They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!

The Almighty can do nothing to us.’

18But it was God who filled their houses with good things.

Their way of thinking is different from mine.

19“Good people can watch and be glad;

the innocent can laugh at them and say,

20‘Surely our enemies are destroyed,

and fire burns up their wealth.’

21“Obey God and be at peace with him;

this is the way to happiness.

22Accept teaching from his mouth,

and keep his words in your heart.

23If you return to the Almighty, you will be blessed again.

So remove evil from your house.

24Throw your gold nuggets into the dust

and your fine gold among the rocks in the ravines.

25Then the Almighty will be your gold

and the best silver for you.

26You will find pleasure in the Almighty,

and you will look up to him.

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

and you will keep your promises to him.

28Anything you decide will be done,

and light will shine on your ways.

29When people are made humble and you say, ‘Have courage,’

then the humble will be saved.

30Even a guilty person will escape

and be saved because your hands are clean.”

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Job 22: NCV

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Job 22

Eliphaz

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

2“Can a man be of benefit to God?

Can even a wise person benefit him?

3What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous?

What would he gain if your ways were blameless?

4“Is it for your piety that he rebukes you

and brings charges against you?

5Is not your wickedness great?

Are not your sins endless?

6You demanded security from your relatives for no reason;

you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.

7You gave no water to the weary

and you withheld food from the hungry,

8though you were a powerful man, owning land—

an honored man, living on it.

9And you sent widows away empty-handed

and broke the strength of the fatherless.

10That is why snares are all around you,

why sudden peril terrifies you,

11why it is so dark you cannot see,

and why a flood of water covers you.

12“Is not God in the heights of heaven?

And see how lofty are the highest stars!

13Yet you say, ‘What does God know?

Does he judge through such darkness?

14Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us

as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’

15Will you keep to the old path

that the wicked have trod?

16They were carried off before their time,

their foundations washed away by a flood.

17They said to God, ‘Leave us alone!

What can the Almighty do to us?’

18Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things,

so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.

19The righteous see their ruin and rejoice;

the innocent mock them, saying,

20‘Surely our foes are destroyed,

and fire devours their wealth.’

21“Submit to God and be at peace with him;

in this way prosperity will come to you.

22Accept instruction from his mouth

and lay up his words in your heart.

23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:

If you remove wickedness far from your tent

24and assign your nuggets to the dust,

your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,

25then the Almighty will be your gold,

the choicest silver for you.

26Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty

and will lift up your face to God.

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

and you will fulfill your vows.

28What you decide on will be done,

and light will shine on your ways.

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

then he will save the downcast.

30He will deliver even one who is not innocent,

who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

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