| 22:1: Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, |
| 22:2: "Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. |
| 22:3: Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him, that you make your ways perfect? |
| 22:4: Is it for your piety that he reproves you, That he enters with you into judgment? |
| 22:5: Isn't your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities. |
| 22:6: For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, And stripped the naked of their clothing. |
| 22:7: You haven't given water to the weary to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. |
| 22:8: But as for the mighty man, he had the earth. The honorable man, he lived in it. |
| 22:9: You have sent widows away empty, And the arms of the fatherless have been broken. |
| 22:10: Therefore snares are round about you. Sudden fear troubles you, |
| 22:11: Or darkness, so that you can not see, And floods of waters cover you. |
| 22:12: "Isn't God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are! |
| 22:13: You say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness? |
| 22:14: Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn't see. He walks on the vault of the sky.' |
| 22:15: Will you keep the old way Which wicked men have trodden, |
| 22:16: Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundation was poured out as a stream, |
| 22:17: Who said to God, 'Depart from us;' And, 'What can the Almighty do for us?' |
| 22:18: Yet he filled their houses with good things, But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. |
| 22:19: The righteous see it, and are glad; The innocent ridicule them, |
| 22:20: Saying, 'Surely those who rose up against us are cut off, The fire has consumed the remnant of them.' |
| 22:21: "Acquaint yourself with him, now, and be at peace. Thereby good shall come to you. |
| 22:22: Please receive instruction from his mouth, And lay up his words in your heart. |
| 22:23: If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up, If you put away unrighteousness far from your tents. |
| 22:24: Lay your treasure in the dust, The gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. |
| 22:25: The Almighty will be your treasure, Precious silver to you. |
| 22:26: For then shall you delight yourself in the Almighty, And shall lift up your face to God. |
| 22:27: You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You shall pay your vows. |
| 22:28: You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you. Light shall shine on your ways. |
| 22:29: When they cast down, you shall say, 'be lifted up.' He will save the humble person. |
| 22:30: He will even deliver him who is not innocent; Yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands." |
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