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Job 22
Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
2 Can a man be profitable to El?
Surely he that is wise is profitable to himself.
3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous?
Or is it gain to him, that you make your ways perfect?
4 Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you,
That he enters with you into judgment?
5 Is not your wickedness great?
Neither is there any end to your iniquities.
6 For you have taken pledges of your brother for nothing,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
7 You have not given water to the weary to drink,
And you have withheld bread from the hungry.
8 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth;
And the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
9 You have sent widows away empty.
And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10 Therefore snares are all around you,
And sudden fear troubles you.
11 Or darkness, so that you cannot see,
And abundance of waters cover you.
12 Is not Eloah in the height of heaven?
And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!
13 And you say, What does El know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he sees not;
And he walks on the vault of heaven.
15 Will you keep the old way
Which wicked men have trodden?
16 Who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
17 Who said to El, Depart from us;
And, What can the Almighty do for us?
18 Yet he filled their houses with good things?
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 The righteous see it, and are glad;
And the innocent laugh them to scorn,
20 Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off,
And the remnant of them the fire has consumed.
21 Acquaint now yourself with him, and be at peace:
Thereby good shall come to you.
22 Receive, I pray you, the law from his mouth,
And lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up,
If you put away unrighteousness far from your tents.
24 And lay your treasure in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
25 And the Almighty will be your treasure,
And precious silver to you.
26 For then shall you delight yourself in the Almighty,
And shall lift up your face to Eloah.
27 You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you;
And you shall pay your vows.
28 You shall also decree a thing, and ft shall be established to you;
And light shall shine upon your ways.
29 When they cast you down, you shall say, There is lifting up;
And the humble person he will save.
30 He will deliver even him that is not innocent:
Yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.
Job 23
Then Job answered and said,
2 Even today is my complaint rebellious:
My stroke is heavier than my groaning.
3 Oh that I knew where I might find him!
That I might come even to his seat!
4 I would set my cause in order before him,
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which he would answer me,
And understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?
No; but he would give heed to me.
7 Then the upright might reason with him;
So should I be delivered forever from my judge.
8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there;
And backward, but I cannot perceive him;
9 On the left hand, when he does work, but I cannot behold him;
He hides himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.
10 But he knows the way that I take;
When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot has held fast to his steps;
His way have I kept, and turned not aside.
12 I have not gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured up the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
13 But he is in one mind, and who can turn him?
And what his soul desires, even that he does.
14 For he performs that which is appointed for me:
And many such things are with him.
15 Therefore am I terrified at his presence;
When I consider, I am afraid of him.
16 For El has made my heart faint,
And the Almighty has terrified me;
17 Because I was not cut off before the darkness,
Neither did he cover the thick darkness from my face.
Job 24
Why are times not laid up by the Almighty?
And why do not they that know him see his days?
2 There are that remove the landmarks;
They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
3 They drive away the ass of the fatherless;
They take the widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They turn the needy out of the way:
The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
5 Behold, as wild asses in the desert
They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food;
The wilderness yields them bread for their children.
6 They cut their provender in the field;
And they glean the vintage of the wicked.
7 They lie all night naked without clothing.
And have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains,
And embrace the rock for want of a shelter.
9 There are that pluck the fatherless from the breast,
And take a pledge of the poor;
10 So that they go about naked without clothing,
And being hungry they carry the sheaves.
11 They make oil within the walls of these men;
They tread their winepresses, and suffer thirst.
12 From out of the populous city men groan,
And the soul of the wounded cries out:
Yet Eloah regards not the folly.
13 These are of them that rebel against the light;
They know not the ways of it,
Nor remain in the paths of it.
14 The murderer rises with the light;
He kills the poor and needy;
And in the night he is as a thief.
15 The eye also of the adulterer waits for the twilight,
Saying, No eye shall see me:
And he disguises his face.
16 In the dark they dig through houses:
They shut themselves up in the daytime;
They know not the light.
17 For the morning is to all of them as thick darkness;
For they know the terrors of the thick darkness.
18 Swiftly they pass away upon the face of the waters;
Their portion is cursed in the earth:
They turn not into the way of the vineyards.
19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters:
So does Sheol those that have sinned.
20 The womb shall forget him;
The worm shall feed sweetly on him;
He shall be no more remembered;
And unrighteousness shall be broken as a tree.
21 He devours the barren that bears not,
And does not good to the widow.
22 Yet Elohim preserves the mighty by his power:
He rises up that has no assurance of life.
23 Elohim gives them to be in security, and they rest on it;
And his eyes are upon their ways.
24 They are exalted; yet a little while, and they are gone;
Yes, they are brought low, they are taken out of the way as all others,
And are cut off as the tops of the ears of grain.
25 And if it be not so now, who will prove me a liar,
And make my speech nothing worth?
