Job 22-26
Legacy Standard Bible
Eliphaz Says Job Must Repent
22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2 “Can a mighty (A)man be of use to God,
Or an insightful man be useful to himself?
3 Is there any pleasure to [a]the Almighty if you are righteous,
Or profit if you make your ways perfect?
4 Is it because of your reverent fear that He reproves you,
That He (B)enters into judgment against you?
5 Is not (C)your evil great,
And your iniquities without end?
6 For you have (D)taken pledges of your brothers without cause,
And (E)stripped the clothing of the naked.
7 To the weary you have (F)given no water to drink,
And from the hungry you have (G)withheld bread.
8 But the earth (H)belongs to the (I)mighty man,
And (J)the [b]highly respected man inhabits it.
9 You have sent (K)widows away empty,
And the [c]might of the (L)orphans has been crushed.
10 Therefore (M)snares surround you,
And sudden (N)dread terrifies you,
11 Or (O)darkness, so that you cannot see,
And an (P)abundance of water covers you.
12 “Is not God (Q)in the height of heaven?
Look also at the [d]distant stars, how high they are!
13 You say, ‘(R)What does God know?
Can He judge through the dense gloom?
14 (S)Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see;
And He walks on the [e]vault of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the ancient path
Which (T)wicked men have trod,
16 Who were snatched away (U)before their time,
Whose (V)foundations were [f]washed away by a river?
17 They (W)said to God, ‘Depart from us!’
And ‘What can [g]the Almighty do to them?’
18 Yet He (X)filled their houses with good things,
But (Y)the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19 The (Z)righteous see and are glad,
And the innocent mock them,
20 Saying, ‘Truly those who rise against us are wiped out,
And their [h]abundance (AA)the fire has consumed.’
21 “[i](AB)Yield now and be at peace with Him;
Thereby good will come to you.
22 Please receive [j](AC)instruction from His mouth
And set His words in your heart.
23 If you (AD)return to [k]the Almighty, you will be [l]restored;
If you (AE)remove unrighteousness far from your tent,
24 And (AF)put your [m]gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
25 Then [n]the Almighty will be your [o]gold
And choice silver to you.
26 For then you will (AG)delight in [p]the Almighty
And lift up your face to God.
27 You will (AH)entreat Him, and (AI)He will hear you;
And you will pay your vows.
28 You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you;
And (AJ)light will shine on your ways.
29 When [q]some are cast down, you will speak with [r]confidence,
And the [s](AK)humble person He will save.
30 He will provide escape for one who is not innocent,
And he will (AL)escape through the cleanness of your hands.”
Where Is God?
23 Then Job answered and said,
2 “Even today my (AM)musing is rebellion;
[t]His hand is (AN)heavy despite my groaning.
3 Oh that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!
4 I would (AO)arrange my case for justice before Him
And fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know the words which He would [u]answer,
And discern what He would say to me.
6 Would He contend with me by (AP)the greatness of His power?
No, surely He would pay attention to me.
7 There the upright would (AQ)argue with Him;
And I [v]would have (AR)escaped forever from my Judge.
8 “Behold, I go forward but He is not there,
And backward, but I (AS)cannot discern Him;
9 When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him;
He turns on the right, I cannot see Him.
10 But He knows the [w]way I take;
When He has (AT)tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 My foot has (AU)held fast to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12 I have not departed from the command of His lips;
I have treasured the (AV)words of His mouth [x]more than my [y]portion of food.
13 But He is unique and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that He does.
14 For He performs what is apportioned for me,
And many such decrees are with Him.
15 Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence;
I carefully consider, and I am in dread of Him.
16 It is God who has made my (AW)heart faint,
And the Almighty who has dismayed me,
17 But I (AX)am not silenced by the darkness,
Nor (AY)thick darkness which covers me.
Who Can Prove Me a Liar?
24 “(AZ)Why are [z]times not stored up by the Almighty,
And why do those who know Him not behold (BA)His days?
2 [aa]Some (BB)move the boundaries;
They seize and [ab]devour flocks.
3 They drive away the donkeys of the (BC)orphans;
They take the (BD)widow’s ox for a pledge.
4 They push (BE)the needy aside from the road;
The (BF)afflicted of the land are made to hide themselves altogether.
5 Behold, as (BG)wild donkeys in the wilderness
They (BH)go forth seeking food earnestly in their work,
The desert becomes [ac]for him a place of bread for his young ones.
6 They harvest their fodder in the field
And glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7 (BI)They spend the night naked, without clothing,
And have no covering against the cold.
8 They are wet with the mountain rains
And hug the rock for want of a shelter.
9 [ad]Others snatch the (BJ)orphan from the breast,
And against the afflicted they take a pledge.
10 Those poor ones walk about naked without clothing,
And hungry ones carry the sheaves.
11 Within the walls they produce oil;
They tread wine presses but thirst.
12 From the city men groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry out;
Yet God (BK)does not pay attention to such offense.
13 “[ae]Others have been with those who rebel against the light;
They do not want to recognize its ways
Nor abide in its paths.
14 The murderer (BL)arises at dawn;
He (BM)kills the afflicted and the needy,
And at night he is as a thief.
15 The eye of the (BN)adulterer keeps watch for the twilight,
Saying, ‘No eye will see me.’
And he [af]keeps his face hidden.
16 In the dark they (BO)dig into houses;
They (BP)shut themselves up by day;
They do not know the light.
17 For the morning is the same to him as the shadow of death,
For he recognizes the (BQ)terrors of the shadow of death.
18 “[ag]They are [ah](BR)insignificant on the surface of the water;
Their portion is (BS)cursed on the earth.
They do not turn [ai]toward the (BT)vineyards.
19 Drought and heat (BU)seize the snow waters,
So does (BV)Sheol those who have sinned.
20 A [aj](BW)mother will forget him;
The (BX)worm feasts sweetly till he is (BY)no longer remembered.
And unrighteousness will be broken (BZ)like a tree.
21 He feeds on the barren woman who does not give birth
And does no good for (CA)the widow.
22 But He drags off the mighty by (CB)His power;
He rises, but (CC)no one believes in his life.
23 He provides them (CD)with security, and they are supported;
And His (CE)eyes are on their ways.
24 They are exalted a (CF)little while, then they are gone;
Moreover, they are (CG)brought low and like everything gathered up;
Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.
25 Now if it is not so, (CH)who can prove me a liar,
And make my speech worthless?”
Bildad Asks, Can Man Be Right with God?
25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said,
2 “(CI)Rule and dread [ak]belong to Him
Who makes peace in (CJ)His heights.
3 Is there any number to (CK)His troops?
And upon whom does His light not rise?
4 How then can mortal man be (CL)right with God?
Or how can he be (CM)pure who is born of woman?
5 Behold even (CN)the moon has no brightness,
And the (CO)stars are not pure in His sight;
6 How much less (CP)mortal man, that (CQ)maggot,
And the son of man, that worm!”
Who Can Understand God?
26 Then Job answered and said,
2 “What a help you are to (CR)the one without power!
How you have saved the arm (CS)without strength!
3 What counsel you have given to one without wisdom!
What sound wisdom you have abundantly made known!
4 To whom have you declared words?
And whose breath comes out from you?
5 “The [al](CT)departed spirits tremble
Under the waters and their inhabitants.
6 Naked is (CU)Sheol before Him,
And [am](CV)Abaddon has no covering.
7 He (CW)stretches out the north over what is formless
And hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He (CX)wraps up the waters in His clouds,
And the cloud does not break out under them.
9 He [an](CY)obscures the face of His [ao]throne
And spreads His cloud over it.
10 He has marked a (CZ)circle on the surface of the waters
At the (DA)boundary of light and darkness.
11 The pillars of heaven tremble
And are astonished at His rebuke.
12 He (DB)quieted the sea with His power,
And by His (DC)understanding He crushed (DD)Rahab.
13 By His breath the (DE)heavens are made beautiful;
His hand has pierced (DF)the fleeing serpent.
14 Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how only with a whisper of (DG)a word do we hear of Him!
But His mighty (DH)thunder, who can understand?”
Footnotes
- Job 22:3 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:8 Lit the one whose face is lifted up
- Job 22:9 Lit arms
- Job 22:12 Lit head, top-most
- Job 22:14 Lit circle
- Job 22:16 Lit poured out
- Job 22:17 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:20 Or excess
- Job 22:21 Or Make yourself useful, cf. Job 22:2
- Job 22:22 Or law
- Job 22:23 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:23 Lit built up
- Job 22:24 Lit ore
- Job 22:25 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:25 Lit ore
- Job 22:26 Heb Shaddai
- Job 22:29 Lit they cast you down
- Job 22:29 Lit pride
- Job 22:29 Lit lowly of eyes
- Job 23:2 As in Gr and Syr; M.T. My
- Job 23:5 Lit answer me
- Job 23:7 Or bring forth my justice forever
- Job 23:10 Lit way with me
- Job 23:12 Some versions in my breast
- Job 23:12 Lit statute
- Job 24:1 Times of judgment
- Job 24:2 Lit They
- Job 24:2 Or pasture
- Job 24:5 Lit his bread
- Job 24:9 Lit They
- Job 24:13 Lit They
- Job 24:15 Lit sets
- Job 24:18 Implied, they (Job’s friends) say; Job 24:18-21
- Job 24:18 Or light, swift
- Job 24:18 Lit to the path of
- Job 24:20 Lit womb
- Job 25:2 Lit are with Him
- Job 26:5 Or shades; Heb Rephaim
- Job 26:6 Lit the realm of destruction
- Job 26:9 Lit covers
- Job 26:9 Or full moon
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