221 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: 2 "Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise person benefit him? 3 What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless? 4 "Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you?
5 Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? 6 You demanded security from your relatives for no reason; you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked. 7 You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry, 8 though you were a powerful man, owning land- an honored man, living on it. 9 And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless. 10 That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you, 11 why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you. 12 "Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars! 13 Yet you say, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness? 14 Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.'
15 Will you keep to the old path that the wicked have trod? 16 They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood. 17 They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?' 18 Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked. 19 The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, 20 'Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.'
21 "Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. 22 Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent 24 and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, 25 then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. 26 Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. 27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. 28 What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways. 29 When people are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast. 30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
221 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
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
21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:
221 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2 "Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right, or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless? 4 Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you and enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities. 6 For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing and stripped the naked of their clothing. 7 You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. 8 The man with power possessed the land, and the favored man lived in it. 9 You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless were crushed. 10 Therefore snares are all around you, and sudden terror overwhelms you, 11 or darkness, so that you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you. 12 "Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars, how lofty they are! 13 But you say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness? 14 Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see, and he walks on the vault of heaven.'
15 Will you keep to the old way that wicked men have trod? 16 They were snatched away before their time; their foundation was washed away. 17 They said to God, 'Depart from us,' and 'What can the Almighty do to us?'
21 "Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. 22 Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty you will be built up; if you remove injustice far from your tents, 24 if you lay gold in the dust, and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed, 25 then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver. 26 For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. 27 You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. 28 You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. 29 For when they are humbled you say, 'It is because of pride';
221 Once again Eliphaz the Temanite took up his theme: 2 "Are any of us strong enough to give God a hand, or smart enough to give him advice? 3 So what if you were righteous - would God Almighty even notice? Even if you gave a perfect performance, do you think he'd applaud? 4 Do you think it's because he cares about your purity that he's disciplining you, putting you on the spot?
5 Hardly! It's because you're a first-class moral failure, because there's no end to your sins. 6 When people came to you for help, you took the shirts off their backs, exploited their helplessness. 7 You wouldn't so much as give a drink to the thirsty, or food, not even a scrap, to the hungry. 8 And there you sat, strong and honored by everyone, surrounded by immense wealth! 9 You turned poor widows away from your door; heartless, you crushed orphans. 10 Now you're the one trapped in terror, paralyzed by fear. Suddenly the tables have turned! 11 How do you like living in the dark, sightless, up to your neck in flood waters? 12 "You agree, don't you, that God is in charge? He runs the universe - just look at the stars! 13 Yet you dare raise questions: 'What does God know? From that distance and darkness, how can he judge? 14 He roams the heavens wrapped in clouds, so how can he see us?'
15 "Are you going to persist in that tired old line that wicked men and women have always used? 16 Where did it get them? They died young, flash floods sweeping them off to their doom. 17 They told God, 'Get lost! What good is God Almighty to us?' 18 And yet it was God who gave them everything they had. It's beyond me how they can carry on like this! 19 "Good people see bad people crash, and call for a celebration. Relieved, they crow, 20 'At last! Our enemies - wiped out. Everything they had and stood for is up in smoke!'
21 "Give in to God, come to terms with him and everything will turn out just fine. 22 Let him tell you what to do; take his words to heart. 23 Come back to God Almighty and he'll rebuild your life. Clean house of everything evil. 24 Relax your grip on your money and abandon your gold-plated luxury. 25 God Almighty will be your treasure, more wealth than you can imagine. 26 "You'll take delight in God, the Mighty One, and look to him joyfully, boldly. 27 You'll pray to him and he'll listen; he'll help you do what you've promised. 28 You'll decide what you want and it will happen; your life will be bathed in light. 29 To those who feel low you'll say, 'Chin up! Be brave!' and God will save them. 30 Yes, even the guilty will escape, escape through God's grace in your life."
221 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2 "Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself? 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless? 4 "Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you?
5 Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end? 6 For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing. 7 You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. 8 But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it. 9 You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed. 10 Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you, 11 Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you. 12 "Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are! 13 And you say, 'What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness? 14 Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.'
15 Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod, 16 Who were cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood? 17 They said to God, 'Depart from us! 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 it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them: 20 'Surely our adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.'
21 "Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you. 22 Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents. 24 Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. 25 Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver; 26 For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God. 27 You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows. 28 You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. 29 When they cast you down, and you say, 'Exaltation will come!' Then He will save the humble person. 30 He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands."
221 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: 2 "Can a person do anything to help God? Can even a wise person be helpful to him? 3 Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect? 4 Is it because you're so pious that he accuses you and brings judgment against you?
5 No, it's because of your wickedness! There's no limit to your sins. 6 "For example, you must have lent money to your friend and demanded clothing as security. Yes, you stripped him to the bone. 7 You must have refused water for the thirsty and food for the hungry. 8 You probably think the land belongs to the powerful and only the privileged have a right to it! 9 You must have sent widows away empty-handed and crushed the hopes of orphans. 10 That is why you are surrounded by traps and tremble from sudden fears. 11 That is why you cannot see in the darkness, and waves of water cover you. 12 "God is so great-higher than the heavens, higher than the farthest stars. 13 But you reply, 'That's why God can't see what I am doing! How can he judge through the thick darkness? 14 For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us. He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.'
15 "Will you continue on the old paths where evil people have walked? 16 They were snatched away in the prime of life, the foundations of their lives washed away. 17 For they said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?' 18 Yet he was the one who filled their homes with good things, so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking. 19 "The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed, and the innocent will laugh in contempt. 20 They will say, 'See how our enemies have been destroyed. The last of them have been consumed in the fire.'
21 "Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you. 22 Listen to his instructions, and store them in your heart. 23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored- so clean up your life. 24 If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river, 25 the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver! 26 "Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up to God. 27 You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him. 28 You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you. 29 If people are in trouble and you say, 'Help them,' God will save them. 30 Even sinners will be rescued; they will be rescued because your hands are pure."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Job 22:1-31
Commentary on Job 22:1-4
(Read Job 22:1-4)
Eliphaz considers that, because Job complained so much of his afflictions, he thought God was unjust in afflicting him; but Job was far from thinking so. What Eliphaz says, is unjustly applied to Job, but it is very true, that when God does us good it is not because he is indebted to us. Man's piety is no profit to God, no gain. The gains of religion to men are infinitely greater than the losses of it. God is a Sovereign, who gives no account of his conduct; but he is perfectly wise, just, faithful, good, and merciful. He approves the likeness of his own holiness, and delights in the fruits of his Spirit; he accepts the thankful services of the humble believer, while he rejects the proud claim of the self-confident.
Commentary on Job 22:5-14
(Read Job 22:5-14)
Eliphaz brought heavy charges against Job, without reason for his accusations, except that Job was visited as he supposed God always visited every wicked man. He charges him with oppression, and that he did harm with his wealth and power in the time of his prosperity.
Commentary on Job 22:15-20
(Read Job 22:15-20)
Eliphaz would have Job mark the old way that wicked men have trodden, and see what the end of their way was. It is good for us to mark it, that we may not walk therein. But if others are consumed, and we are not, instead of blaming them, and lifting up ourselves, as Eliphaz does here, we ought to be thankful to God, and take it for a warning.
Commentary on Job 22:21-30
(Read Job 22:21-30)
The answer of Eliphaz wrongly implied that Job had hitherto not known God, and that prosperity in this life would follow his sincere conversion. The counsel Eliphaz here gives is good, though, as to Job, it was built upon a false supposition that he was a stranger and enemy to God. Let us beware of slandering our brethren; and if it be our lot to suffer in this manner, let us remember how Job was treated; yea, how Jesus was reviled, that we may be patient. Let us examine whether there may not be some colour for the slander, and walk watchfully, so as to be clear of all appearances of evil.