Then
Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,
02 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that
is wise may be profitable unto himself?
03 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou
art righteous? or is it gain to him, that thou
makest thy ways perfect?
04 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he
enter with thee into judgment?
05 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine
iniquities infinite?
06 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother
for nought, and stripped the naked of their
clothing.
07 Thou hast not given water to the weary to
drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the
hungry.
08 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth;
and the honourable man dwelt in it.
09 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:
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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.
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