Job 22
22
Eliphaz Answers Job
1Then Eliphaz from Teman answered:
2“Does God need our help?
Even the wisest of us is not really useful to him.
3Does your living right benefit him?
Does God All-Powerful gain anything if you follow him?
4Why does God blame and punish you?
Is it because you worship him?
5No, it is because you sin so much.
You never stop sinning.
6Maybe to guarantee loans you took things from people for no reason.
Maybe you took a poor man’s clothes to make sure he paid you back.#22:6 paid you back See Deut. 24:12-13 for rules about making loans to the poor.
7Maybe you failed to give water or food
to people who were tired or hungry.
8You have a lot of farmland,
and people respect you.
9But maybe you sent widows away without giving them anything.
And maybe you took advantage of orphans.
10That is why traps are all around you,
and sudden trouble makes you afraid.
11That is why it is so dark you cannot see,
and why a flood of water covers you.
12“God lives in the highest part of heaven
and looks down on the highest stars.
13But you might say, ‘What does God know?
Can he see through the dark clouds to judge us?
14Thick clouds hide us from his eyes,
so he cannot see us as he walks around the edge of the sky.’
15“Job, you are walking on the old path
that evil people walked on long ago.
16They were destroyed before it was their time to die.
They were washed away by the flood.
17They told God, ‘Leave us alone!’
and said, ‘God All-Powerful cannot do anything to us!’
18And it was God who filled their houses with good things.
No, I would never follow the advice of evil people.
19Those who do what is right are happy to see them destroyed.
The innocent laugh at them and say,
20‘Surely our enemies are destroyed!
Their wealth burned up in the fire!’
21“Now, Job, give yourself to God and make peace with him.
Do this, and you will get many good things.
22Accept his teaching.
Pay attention to what he says.
23If you return to God All-Powerful, you will be restored.
But remove the evil from your house.
24Think of your gold as nothing but dirt.
Think of your finest gold as rocks from a stream.
25And let God All-Powerful be your gold.
Let him be your pile of silver.
26Then you will enjoy God All-Powerful,
and you will look up to him.
27When you pray, he will hear you.
And you will be able to do all that you promised him.
28If you decide to do something, it will be successful.
And your future will be very bright!
29When people are brought down and you ask God to help them,
he will rescue those who have been humbled.
30Even those who are guilty will be forgiven.
They will be saved because you did what was right.”
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Job 22: ERV
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