Job 22:1-30 GNT

[1] 1-2 Is there anyone, even the wisest, who could ever be of use to God? [3] Does your doing right benefit God, or does your being good help him at all? [4] It is not because you stand in awe of God that he reprimands you and brings you to trial. [5] No, it's because you have sinned so much; it's because of all the evil you do. [6] To make a brother repay you the money he owed, you took away his clothes and left him nothing to wear. [7] You refused water to those who were tired, and refused to feed those who were hungry. [8] You used your power and your position to take over the whole land. [9] You not only refused to help widows, but you also robbed and mistreated orphans. [10] So now there are pitfalls all around you, and suddenly you are full of fear. [11] It has grown so dark that you cannot see, and a flood overwhelms you. [12] Doesn't God live in the highest heavens and look down on the stars, even though they are high? [13] And yet you ask, "What does God know? He is hidden by clouds-how can he judge us?" [14] You think the thick clouds keep him from seeing, as he walks on the dome of the sky. [15] Are you determined to walk in the paths that evil people have always followed? [16] Even before their time had come, they were washed away by a flood. [17] These are the ones who rejected God and believed that he could do nothing to them. [18] And yet it was God who made them prosperous- I can't understand the thoughts of the wicked. [19] Good people are glad and the innocent laugh when they see the wicked punished. [20] All that the wicked own is destroyed, and fire burns up anything that is left. [21] Now, Job, make peace with God and stop treating him like an enemy; if you do, then he will bless you. [22] Accept the teaching he gives; keep his words in your heart. [23] Yes, you must humbly return to God and put an end to all the evil that is done in your house. [24] Throw away your gold; dump your finest gold in the dry stream bed. [25] Let Almighty God be your gold, and let him be silver, piled high for you. [26] Then you will always trust in God and find that he is the source of your joy. [27] When you pray, he will answer you, and you will keep the vows you made. [28] You will succeed in all you do, and light will shine on your path. [29] God brings down the proud and saves the humble. [30] He will rescue you if you are innocent, if what you do is right.