22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

22:2 "Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise man benefit him?

22:3 What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless?

22:4 "Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you?

22:5 Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?

22:6 You demanded security from your brothers for no reason; you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked.

22:7 You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry,

22:8 though you were a powerful man, owning land--an honored man, living on it.

22:9 And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless.

22:10 That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you,

22:11 why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you.

22:12 "Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars!

22:13 Yet you say, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness?

22:14 Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.'

22:15 Will you keep to the old path that evil men have trod?

22:16 They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood.

22:17 They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?'

22:18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.

22:19 "The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying,

22:20 'Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.'

22:21 "Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.

22:22 Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.

22:23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent

22:24 and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,

22:25 then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.

22:26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.

22:27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.

22:28 What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.

22:29 When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast.

22:30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."