Job 22:1-30 NIV

Job 22:1-30 NIV [1] Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: [2] “Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise person benefit him? [3] What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless? [4] “Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you? [5] Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? [6] You demanded security from your relatives for no reason; you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked. [7] You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry, [8] though you were a powerful man, owning land—an honored man, living on it. [9] And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless. [10] That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you, [11] why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you. [12] “Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars! [13] Yet you say, ‘What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness? [14] Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.’ [15] Will you keep to the old path that the wicked have trod? [16] They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood. [17] They said to God, ‘Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?’ [18] Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked. [19] The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, [20] ‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.’ [21] “Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. [22] Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. [23] If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent [24] and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, [25] then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. [26] Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. [27] You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. [28] What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways. [29] When people are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then he will save the downcast. [30] He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.”

Find out more about this Bible translation: