| Chapter 22 |
1 |
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, |
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"Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. |
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Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him, that you make your ways perfect? |
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Is it for your piety that he reproves you, That he enters with you into judgment? |
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Isn`t your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities. |
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For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, And stripped the naked of their clothing. |
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You haven`t given water to the weary to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. |
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But as for the mighty man, he had the earth. The honorable man, he lived in it. |
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You have sent widows away empty, And the arms of the fatherless have been broken. |
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Therefore snares are round about you. Sudden fear troubles you, |
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Or darkness, so that you can not see, And floods of waters cover you. |
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"Isn`t God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are! |
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You say, `What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness? |
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Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn`t see. He walks on the vault of the sky.` |
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Will you keep the old way Which wicked men have trodden, |
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Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundation was poured out as a stream, |
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Who said to God, `Depart from us;` And, `What can the Almighty do for us?` |
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Yet he filled their houses with good things, But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. |
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The righteous see it, and are glad; The innocent laugh them to scorn, |
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Saying, `Surely those who rose up against us are cut off, The fire has consumed the remnant of them.` |
21 |
"Acquaint yourself with him, now, and be at peace. Thereby good shall come to you. |
22 |
Please receive 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, If you put away unrighteousness far from your tents. |
24 |
Lay your treasure in the dust, The gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. |
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The Almighty will be your treasure, Precious silver to you. |
26 |
For then shall you delight yourself in the Almighty, And shall lift up your face to God. |
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You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You shall pay your vows. |
28 |
You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you. Light shall shine on your ways. |
29 |
When they cast down, you shall say, `be lifted up.` He will save the humble person. |
30 |
He will even deliver him who is not innocent; Yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands." |