Job 22

Berean Standard Bible

Chapter summary

Eliphaz the Temanite speaks in response to Job, questioning whether any human can truly benefit God through righteousness. He accuses Job of great wickedness, claiming that Job exploited his brothers, withheld food and water from the needy, and mistreated widows and orphans. Eliphaz argues that these sins are the reason Job is currently surrounded by snares, darkness, and sudden perils. He also accuses Job of questioning God's omniscience and judgment from behind the cover of thick clouds. Finally, Eliphaz urges Job to make peace with the Almighty, abandon injustice, and return to God so that he may be restored and have his prayers answered.

Summary automatically generated from the Bible text.

Words of Jesus in red

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: ²“Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him? ³Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous? Does He profit if your ways are blameless? ⁴Is it for your reverence that He rebukes you and enters into judgment against you? ⁵Is not your wickedness great? Are not your iniquities endless? ⁶For you needlessly demanded security from your brothers and deprived the naked of their clothing. ⁷You gave no water to the weary and withheld food from the famished, ⁸while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it. ⁹You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed. ¹⁰Therefore snares surround you, and sudden peril terrifies you; ¹¹it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you. ¹²Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are! ¹³Yet you say: ‘What does God know? Does He judge through thick darkness? ¹⁴Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven. ’ ¹⁵Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod? ¹⁶They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood. ¹⁷They said to God, ‘Depart from us. What can the Almighty do to us?’ ¹⁸But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked. ¹⁹The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent mock them: ²⁰‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire has consumed their excess.’ ²¹Reconcile now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you. ²²Receive instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart. ²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. If you remove injustice from your tents ²⁴and consign your gold to the dust and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines, ²⁵then the Almighty will be your gold and the finest silver for you. ²⁶Surely then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. ²⁷You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. ²⁸Your decisions will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways. ²⁹When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’ then He will save the lowly. ³⁰He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”

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Louis Segond 1910 and Berean Standard Bible: public domain. Cross references: open-cross-ref, Creative Commons BY 4.0.