NAS - Job Chapter 22 to 23

22 Eliphaz Accuses and Exhorts Job

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded, ² "Can a vigorous man be of use to God, Or a wise man be useful to himself? ³ "Is there any pleasure to the Almighty if you are righteous, Or profit if you make your ways perfect? ⁴ "Is it because of your reverence that He reproves you, That He enters into judgment against you? ⁵ "Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquities without end? ⁶"For you have taken pledges of your brothers without cause, And stripped men naked. ⁷ "To the weary you have given no water to drink, And from the hungry you have withheld bread. ⁸ "But the earth belongs to the mighty man, And the honorable man dwells in it. ⁹ "You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the orphans has been crushed. ¹⁰ "Therefore snares surround you, And sudden dread terrifies you, ¹¹Or darkness, so that you cannot see, And an abundance of water covers you.

¹²"Is not God in the height of heaven? Look also at the distant stars, how high they are! ¹³ "You say, `What does God know? Can He judge through the thick darkness? ¹⁴ `Clouds are a hiding place for Him, so that He cannot see; And He walks on the vault of heaven.' ¹⁵ "Will you keep to the ancient path Which wicked men have trod, ¹⁶Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundations were washed away by a river? ¹⁷ "They said to God, `Depart from us!' And `What can the Almighty do to them?' ¹⁸ "Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. ¹⁹ "The righteous see and are glad, And the innocent mock them, ²⁰ Saying, `Truly our adversaries are cut off, And their abundance the fire has consumed.'

²¹"Yield now and be at peace with Him; Thereby good will come to you. ²²"Please receive instruction from His mouth And establish His words in your heart. ²³ "If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; If you remove unrighteousness far from your tent, ²⁴ And place your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks, ²⁵ Then the Almighty will be your gold And choice silver to you. ²⁶ "For then you will delight in the Almighty And lift up your face to God. ²⁷ "You will pray to Him, and 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 light will shine on your ways. ²⁹ "When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence, And the humble person He will save. ³⁰ "He will deliver one who is not innocent, And he will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."

23 Job Says He Longs for God

¹Then Job replied, ² "Even today my complaint is rebellion; His hand is heavy despite my groaning. ³ "Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! ⁴"I would present my case before Him And fill my mouth with arguments. ⁵ "I would learn the words which He would answer, And perceive what He would say to me. ⁶ "Would He contend with me by the greatness of His power? No, surely He would pay attention to me. ⁷ "There the upright would reason with Him; And I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

⁸"Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive 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 way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. ¹¹ "My foot has 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 words of His mouth more than my necessary 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 appointed for me, And many such decrees are with Him. ¹⁵ "Therefore, I would be dismayed at His presence; When I consider, I am terrified of Him. ¹⁶ "It is God who has made my heart faint, And the Almighty who has dismayed me, ¹⁷ But I am not silenced by the darkness, Nor deep gloom which covers me.