• Eliphaz Says Job Must Repent

  • 1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
  • 2 “Can a mighty man be of use to God, Or an insightful 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 reverent fear that He reproves you, That He enters into judgment against you?
  • 5 “Is not your evil great, And your iniquities without end?
  • 6 “For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause, And stripped the clothing of the 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 highly respected man inhabits it.
  • 9 “You have sent widows away empty, And the might 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 dense gloom?
  • 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 those who rise against us are wiped out, 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 set 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 put 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 entreat 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 some are cast down, you will speak with confidence, And the humble person He will save.
  • 30 “He will provide escape for one who is not innocent, And he will escape through the cleanness of your hands.”