Job 22
1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2“Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him?
3Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless?
4Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you and enters into judgment against you?
5Is not your wickedness great? Are not your iniquities endless?
6For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers and deprived the naked of their clothing.
7You gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the famished,
8while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it.
9You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.
10Therefore snares surround you, and sudden peril terrifies you;
11it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.
12Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!
13Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness?
14Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’
15Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?
16They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood.
17They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’
18But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
19The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent mock them:
20‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire has consumed their excess.’
21Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you.
22Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.
23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. If you remove injustice from your tents
24and consign your gold to the dust and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,
25then the Almighty will be your gold and the finest silver for you.
26Surely then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.
27You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.
28Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways.
29When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then He will save the lowly.
30He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”
1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Doe of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, so far from my words of groaning?
2I cry out by day, O my God, but You do not answer, and by night, but I have no rest.
3Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them.
5They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.
6But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
7All who see me mock me; they sneer and shake their heads:
8“He trusts in the LORD, let the LORD deliver him; let the LORD rescue him, since He delights in him.”
9Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breast.
10From birth I was cast upon You; from my mother’s womb You have been my God.
11Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
12Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.
14I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.
15My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death.
16For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.
17I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me.
18They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
19But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
20Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of wild dogs.
21Save me from the mouth of the lion; at the horns of the wild oxen You have answered me!
22I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; I will praise You in the assembly.
23You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All descendants of Jacob, honor Him! All offspring of Israel, revere Him!
24For He has not despised or detested the torment of the afflicted. He has not hidden His face from him, but has attended to his cry for help.
25My praise for You resounds in the great assembly; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear You.
26The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!
27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD. All the families of the nations will bow down before Him.
28For dominion belongs to the LORD and He rules over the nations.
29All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him—even those unable to preserve their lives.
30Posterity will serve Him; they will declare the Lord to a new generation.
31They will come and proclaim His righteousness to a people yet unborn—all that He has done.