| 章 |
| 22:1 |
Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
|
| 22:2 |
"Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise man benefit him?
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| 22:3 |
What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless?
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| 22:4 |
"Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you?
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| 22:5 |
Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless?
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| 22:6 |
You demanded security from your brothers for no reason; you stripped men of their clothing, leaving them naked.
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| 22:7 |
You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry,
|
| 22:8 |
though you were a powerful man, owning land-- an honored man, living on it.
|
| 22:9 |
And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless.
|
| 22:10 |
That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you,
|
| 22:11 |
why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you.
|
| 22:12 |
"Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars!
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| 22:13 |
Yet you say, `What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness?
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| 22:14 |
Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.
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| 22:15 |
'Will you keep to the old path that evil men have trod?
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| 22:16 |
They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood.
|
| 22:17 |
They said to God, `Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?
|
| 22:18 |
'Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the counsel of the wicked.
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| 22:19 |
"The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying,
|
| 22:20 |
`Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.
|
| 22:21 |
"'Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you.
|
| 22:22 |
Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart.
|
| 22:23 |
If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent
|
| 22:24 |
and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
|
| 22:25 |
then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you.
|
| 22:26 |
Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.
|
| 22:27 |
You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.
|
| 22:28 |
What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.
|
| 22:29 |
When men are brought low and you say, `Lift them up! 'then he will save the downcast.
|
| 22:30 |
He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."
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