| 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. |
