Job

Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

1Then Eliphaz, the man from Teman, answered Job. He said:

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

2Can any person be useful to God? Even a wise man only does himself good.

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

3Does it please the Almighty that you do what is right? Does he gain if your life is blameless?

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

4Is it because you respect him that he corrects you and takes you to court?

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

5Isn't your wrongdoing great? Don't your sins go on and on without end?

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

6You made your own brothers hand over property to guarantee a debt, for no reason. You took the clothes off people who had little.

NoteA "pledge" was something valuable handed over to guarantee that a debt would be paid, like a coat or a tool. Taking one from someone who owed you nothing was a way of squeezing the poor.

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

7You gave no water to people worn out with thirst. You held back bread from people who were starving.

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

8Meanwhile the strong man owned the land, and the man everyone honored lived on it.

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

9You sent widows away with nothing in their hands. You crushed the strength of children who had no father.

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

10That is why traps are set all around you, and sudden terror makes you afraid.

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

11That is why it is too dark for you to see, and a flood of water covers you.

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

12Isn't God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, and see how far up they are.

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

13But you say, "What does God really know? Can he judge us through that thick dark cloud?

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

14Thick clouds hide him, so he cannot see us, while he walks along the dome of the sky."

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

15Will you keep to the ancient path that wicked men have walked before you?

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

16They were snatched away before their time. A flood washed away the ground they stood on.

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

17They said to God, "Leave us alone. What can the Almighty do to us?"

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

18Yet he was the one who filled their houses with good things. I stay far away from the plans of wicked people.

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

19People who do right see what happens to them and are glad. The innocent laugh at them.

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

20They say, "Our enemies are truly wiped out, and fire has burned up everything they left behind."

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

21Get to know God now, and be at peace with him. Then good things will come to you.

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

22Please accept the teaching that comes from his mouth, and store his words in your heart.

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

23If you turn back to the Almighty, you will be built up again. Put wrongdoing far away from your tents.

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

24Throw your gold down into the dust, and your gold from Ophir among the stones of the dry streambeds.

NoteOphir was a faraway land known for gold of the very best quality. Eliphaz is telling Job to treat even the finest gold as worthless dirt.

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

25Then the Almighty himself will be your protection, and you will have silver in plenty.

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

26Then you will find your joy in the Almighty, and you will lift your face up to God.

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

27You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will keep the promises you made him.

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

28You will decide to do something, and it will happen. Light will shine on the roads you walk.

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

29When people are brought low, you will say, "Lift them up!" And God will save the humble.

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

30He will rescue even a person who is not innocent. That person will be saved because your hands are clean.

NoteThe KJV's "the island of the innocent" comes from a hard Hebrew phrase. The sense is that God will rescue even a guilty person, and the rescue comes because of the clean hands of the one praying.