22:1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

22:2 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself?

22:3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?

22:4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?

22:5 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite?

22:6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

22:7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

22:8 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it.

22:9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.

22:10 Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;

22:11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee.

22:12 Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

22:13 And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?

22:14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.

22:15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden?

22:16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood:

22:17 Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?

22:18 Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

22:19 The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

22:20 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

22:21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.

22:22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart.

22:23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles.

22:24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks.

22:25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.

22:26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.

22:27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows.

22:28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.

22:29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person.

22:30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.