|
Chapter 22 |
|
1 | Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and
said, |
| 2 |
Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be
profitable unto himself? |
| 3 | Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou
art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
|
| 4 | Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into
judgment? |
| 5
| Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities
infinite? |
| 6
| For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought,
and stripped the naked of their clothing. |
|
7 | Thou hast not given water to
the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. |
| 8 |
But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in
it. |
| 9 |
Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless
have been broken. |
| 10 | Therefore snares are round about thee, and
sudden fear troubleth thee; |
|
11 | Or darkness, that thou canst not see;
and abundance of waters cover thee. |
| 12 | Is not God in the height of
heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! |
| 13 | And
thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? |
| 14 |
Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the
circuit of heaven. |
| 15 | Hast thou marked the old way which wicked
men have trodden? |
| 16 | Which were cut down out of time, whose
foundation was overflown with a flood: |
| 17 | Which said unto 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 consumeth. |
| 21 | Acquaint now thyself with
him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. |
| 22 | Receive,
I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
|
| 23 | If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put
away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. |
|
24 | Then shalt thou lay up
gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. |
| 25 |
Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of
silver. |
| 26
| For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and
shalt lift up thy face unto God. |
| 27 | Thou shalt make thy prayer
unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. |
| 28 | Thou
shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light
shall shine upon thy ways. |
|
29 | When men are cast down, then thou
shalt 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 thine hands. |
