1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 "Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise person benefit him?
3 What 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?
5 Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?
6 You demanded security from your relatives for no reason; you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked.
7 You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry,
8 though you were a powerful man, owning land — an honored man, living on it.
9 And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless.
10 That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you,
11 why 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!
13 Yet you say, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness?
14 Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.'
15 Will you keep to the old path that the wicked have trod?
16 They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood.
17 They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?'
18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked.
19 The 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.
22 Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent
24 and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.
26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.
27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.
28 What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.
29 When people are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast.
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 Can a man be profitable to God, as he that is wise may be profitable to himself?
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous? or is it gain to him, that you make your ways perfect?
4 Will he reprove you for fear of you? will he enter with you into judgment?
5 Is not your wickedness great? and your iniquities infinite?
6 For you have taken a pledge from your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have not given water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honorable man dwelled in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10 Therefore snares are round about you, and sudden fear troubles you;
11 Or darkness, that you can not see; and abundance of waters cover you.
12 Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
13 And you say, How does God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he sees not; and he walks in the circuit of heaven.
15 Have you marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood:
17 Which said to God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things: 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 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumes.
21 Acquaint now yourself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come to you.
22 Receive, I pray you, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up, you shall put away iniquity far from your tabernacles.
24 Then shall you lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
25 Yes, the Almighty shall be your defense, and you shall have plenty of silver.
26 For then shall you have your delight in the Almighty, and shall lift up your face to God.
27 You shall make your prayer to him, and he shall hear you, and you shall pay your vows.
28 You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you: and the light shall shine on your ways.
29 When men are cast down, then you shall say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of your hands.