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