Job 22 & 23
22 Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded,
2 “Can a vigorous man be of use to God,
Or a wise man be useful to himself?
3 “Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous,
Or profit if you make your ways perfect?
4 “Is it because of your reverence that He reproves you,
That He enters into judgment against you?
5 “Is not your wickedness great,
And your iniquities without end?
6 “For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,
And stripped men naked.
7 “To the weary you have given no water to drink,
And from the hungry you have withheld bread.
8 “But the earth belongs to the mighty man,
And the honorable man dwells in it.
9 “You have sent widows away empty,
And the strength of the orphans has been crushed.
10 “Therefore snares surround you,
And sudden dread terrifies you,
11 Or darkness, so that you cannot see,
And an abundance of water covers you.12 “Is not God in the height of heaven?
Look also at the distant stars, how high they are!
13 “You say, ‘What does God know?
Can He judge through the thick darkness?
14 ‘Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;
And He walks on the vault of heaven.’
15 “Will you keep to the ancient path
Which wicked men have trod,
16 Who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundations were washed away by a river?
17 “They said to God, ‘Depart from us!’
And ‘What can the Almighty do to them?’
18 “Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 “The righteous see and are glad,
And the innocent mock them,
20 Saying, ‘Truly our adversaries are cut off,
And their abundance the fire has consumed.’21 “Yield now and be at peace with Him;
Thereby good will come to you.
22 “Please receive instruction from His mouth
And establish His words in your heart.
23 “If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent,
24 And place your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
25 Then the Almighty will be your gold
And choice silver to you.
26 “For then you will delight in the Almighty
And lift up your face to God.
27 “You will pray to Him, and He will hear you;
And you will pay your vows.
28 “You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
And light will shine on your ways.
29 “When you are cast down, you will speak with [t]confidence,
And the humble person He will save.
30 “He will deliver one who is not innocent,
And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”
23 Job Says He Longs for God
1 Then Job replied,2 “Even today my complaint is rebellion;
His hand is heavy despite my groaning.
3 “Oh that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
4 “I would present my case before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 “I would learn the words which He would answer,
And perceive what He would say to me.
6 “Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power?
No, surely He would pay attention to me.
7 “There the upright would reason with Him;
And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.8 “Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
And backward, but I cannot perceive Him;
9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;
He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.
10 “But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 “My foot has held fast to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
13 “But He is unique and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.
14 “For He performs what is appointed for me,
And many such decrees are with Him.
15 “Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;
When I consider, I am terrified of Him.
16 “It is God who has made my heart faint,
And the Almighty who has dismayed me,
17 But I am not silenced by the darkness,
Nor deep gloom which covers me.