1And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
2Can a man be profitable to God? surely it is unto himself that the wise man is profitable.
3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if thou art righteous? And is it gain [to him] that thou makest thy ways perfect?
4Will he reason with thee for fear of thee? Will he enter with thee into judgment?
5Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities without end?
6For thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped off the clothing of the naked.
7Thou hast not given water to the fainting to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
8But the powerful man, he had the land; and the man of high rank dwelt in it.
9Widows hast thou sent empty away, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
10Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee;
11Or darkness, that thou canst not see, and floods of waters cover thee.
12Is not God in the height of the heavens? And behold the summit of the stars: how exalted are they!
13And thou sayest, What doth God know? will he judge through the dark cloud?
14Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh on the vault of the heavens.
15Dost thou mark the ancient path which wicked men have trodden?
16Who were carried off before the time, whose foundation was overflowed with a flood;
17Who said unto God, Depart from us! and what could the Almighty do to them?
18Yet he filled their houses with good. But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
19The righteous see it, and are glad; and the innocent laugh them to scorn:
20Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue?
21Reconcile thyself now with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.
22Receive, I pray thee, instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in thy heart.
23If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. If thou remove unrighteousness far from thy tents,
24And put the precious ore with the dust, and [the gold of] Ophir among the stones of the torrents,
25Then the Almighty will be thy precious ore, and silver heaped up unto thee;
26Yea, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God:
27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows;
28And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and light shall shine upon thy ways.
29When they are made low, then thou shalt say, Rise up! and he shall save him that is of downcast eyes.
30[Even] him that is not innocent shall he deliver; yea, he shall be delivered by the pureness of thy hands.