Eliphaz Says Job Must Repent

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

2“Can a mighty man be of use to God,

Or an insightful man be useful to himself?

3Is there any pleasure to [†]the Almighty if you are righteous,

Or profit if you make your ways perfect?

4Is it because of your reverent fear that He reproves you,

That He enters into judgment against you?

5Is not your evil great,

And your iniquities without end?

6For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause,

And stripped the clothing of the naked.

7To the weary you have given no water to drink,

And from the hungry you have withheld bread.

8But the earth belongs to the mighty man,

And the [†]highly respected man inhabits it.

9You have sent widows away empty,

And the [†]might of the orphans has been crushed.

10Therefore snares surround you,

And sudden dread terrifies you,

11Or 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!

13You say, ‘What does God know?

Can He judge through the dense gloom?

14Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;

And He walks on the [†]vault of heaven.’

15Will you keep to the ancient path

Which wicked men have trod,

16Who were snatched away before their time,

Whose foundations were [†]washed away by a river?

17They said to God, ‘Depart from us!’

And ‘What can [†]the Almighty do to them?’

18Yet He filled their houses with good things,

But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

19The righteous see and are glad,

And the innocent mock them,

20Saying, ‘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.

22Please receive [†]instruction from His mouth

And set His words in your heart.

23If you return to [†]the Almighty, you will be [†]restored;

If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent,

24And put your [†]gold in the dust,

And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,

25Then [†]the Almighty will be your [†]gold

And choice silver to you.

26For then you will delight in [†]the Almighty

And lift up your face to God.

27You will entreat Him, and He will hear you;

And you will pay your vows.

28You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;

And light will shine on your ways.

29When [†]some are cast down, you will speak with [†]confidence,

And the [†]humble person He will save.

30He will provide escape for one who is not innocent,

And he will escape through the cleanness of your hands.”