22Verse 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:Verse 2“Can a man be of use to God?Can even a wise man benefit Him?Verse 3Does it delight the Almighty that you are righteous?Does He profit if your ways are blameless?Verse 4Is it for your reverence that He rebukes youand enters into judgment against you?Verse 5Is not your wickedness great?Are not your iniquities endless?Verse 6For you needlessly demanded security from your brothersand deprived the naked of their clothing.Verse 7You gave no water to the wearyand withheld food from the famished,Verse 8while the land belonged to a mighty man,and a man of honor lived on it.Verse 9You sent widows away empty-handed,and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.Verse 10Therefore snares surround you,and sudden peril terrifies you;Verse 11it is so dark you cannot see,and a flood of water covers you.Verse 12Is not God as high as the heavens?Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!Verse 13Yet you say: ‘What does God know?Does He judge through thick darkness?Verse 14Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see usas He traverses the vault of heaven.+’Verse 15Will you stay on the ancient paththat wicked men have trod?Verse 16They were snatched away before their time,and their foundations were swept away by a flood.Verse 17They said to God, ‘Depart from us.What can the Almighty do to us?’Verse 18But it was He who filled their houses with good things;so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.Verse 19The righteous see it and are glad;the innocent mock them:Verse 20‘Surely our foes are destroyed,and fire has consumed their excess.’Verse 21Reconcile now and be at peace with Him;thereby good will come to you.Verse 22Receive instruction from His mouth,and lay up His words in your heart.Verse 23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored.If you remove injustice from your tentsVerse 24and consign your gold to the dustand the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,Verse 25then the Almighty will be your goldand the finest silver for you.Verse 26Surely then you will delight in the Almightyand lift up your face to God.Verse 27You will pray to Him, and He will hear you,and you will fulfill your vows.Verse 28Your decisions will be carried out,and light will shine on your ways.Verse 29When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up!’then He will save the lowly.Verse 30He will deliver even one who is not innocent,rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”