| 1 | Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, |
| 2 | Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? |
| 3 | [Is it] any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or [is it] gain [to him], that thou makest thy ways perfect? |
| 4 | Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment? |
| 5 | [Is] not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? |
| 6 | For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. |
| 7 | Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. |
| 8 | But [as for] the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. |
| 9 | Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. |
| 10 | Therefore snares [are] round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; |
| 11 | Or darkness, [that] thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee. |
| 12 | [Is] not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! |
| 13 | And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? |
| 14 | Thick clouds [are] a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven. |
| 15 | Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? |
| 16 | Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: |
| 17 | Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them? |
| 18 | Yet he filled their houses with good [things]: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. |
| 19 | The righteous see [it], and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn. |
| 20 | Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth. |
| 21 | Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. |
| 22 | Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. |
| 23 | If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. |
| 24 | Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the [gold] of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. |
| 25 | Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. |
| 26 | For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. |
| 27 | Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. |
| 28 | Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. |
| 29 | When [men] are cast down, then thou shalt say, [There is] lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. |
| 30 | He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands. |
