22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
22:2 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?
22:3 [Is it] any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or [is it] gain [to him], that thou makest thy ways perfect?
22:4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?
22:5 [Is] not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?
22:6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.
22:7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
22:8 But [as for] the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.
22:9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
22:10 Therefore snares [are] round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;
22:11 Or darkness, [that] thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.
22:12 [Is] not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
22:13 And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?
22:14 Thick clouds [are] a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.
22:15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?
22:16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:
22:17 Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?
22:18 Yet he filled their houses with good [things]: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
22:19 The righteous see [it], and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.
22:20 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.
22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.
22:22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.
22:23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
22:24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the [gold] of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.
22:25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
22:26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.
22:27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.
22:28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.
22:29 When [men] are cast down, then thou shalt say, [There is] lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.
22:30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
23:1 Then Job answered and said,
23:2 Even to day [is] my complaint bitter: my stroke is heavier than my groaning.
23:3 Oh that I knew where I might find him! [that] I might come [even] to his seat!
23:4 I would order [my] cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments.
23:5 I would know the words [which] he would answer me, and understand what he would say unto me.
23:6 Will he plead against me with [his] great power? No; but he would put [strength] in me.
23:7 There the righteous might dispute with him; so should I be delivered for ever from my judge.
23:8 Behold, I go forward, but he [is] not [there]; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
23:9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold [him]: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see [him]:
23:10 But he knoweth the way that I take: [when] he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
23:11 My foot hath held his steps, his way have I kept, and not declined.
23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary [food].
23:13 But he [is] in one [mind], and who can turn him? and [what] his soul desireth, even [that] he doeth.
23:14 For he performeth [the thing that is] appointed for me: and many such [things are] with him.
23:15 Therefore am I troubled at his presence: when I consider, I am afraid of him.
23:16 For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me:
23:17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness, [neither] hath he covered the darkness from my face.