| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: | 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
| 2“Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. | 2"Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise person benefit him? |
| 3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right, or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless? | 3What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless? |
| 4Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you and enters into judgment with you? | 4"Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you? |
| 5Is not your evil abundant? There is no end to your iniquities. | 5Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? |
| 6For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing and stripped the naked of their clothing. | 6You demanded security from your relatives for no reason; you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked. |
| 7You have given no water to the weary to drink, and you have withheld bread from the hungry. | 7You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry, |
| 8The man with power possessed the land, and the favored man lived in it. | 8though you were a powerful man, owning land-- an honored man, living on it. |
| 9You have sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless were crushed. | 9And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless. |
| 10Therefore snares are all around you, and sudden terror overwhelms you, | 10That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you, |
| 11or darkness, so that you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you. | 11why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you. |
| 12“Is not God high in the heavens? See the highest stars, how lofty they are! | 12"Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars! |
| 13But you say, ‘What does God know? Can he judge through the deep darkness? | 13Yet you say, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness? |
| 14Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see, and he walks on the vault of heaven.’ | 14Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.' |
| 15Will you keep to the old way that wicked men have trod? | 15Will you keep to the old path that the wicked have trod? |
| 16They were snatched away before their time; their foundation was washed away. | 16They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood. |
| 17They said to God, ‘Depart from us,’ and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?’ | 17They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?' |
| 18Yet he filled their houses with good things— but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. | 18Yet it was he who filled their houses with good things, so I stand aloof from the plans of the wicked. |
| 19The righteous see it and are glad; the innocent one mocks at them, | 19The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, |
| 20saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off, and what they left the fire has consumed.’ | 20Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.' |
| 21“Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. | 21"Submit to God and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you. |
| 22Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. | 22Accept instruction from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart. |
| 23If you return to the Almighty you will be built up; if you remove injustice far from your tents, | 23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent |
| 24if you lay gold in the dust, and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed, | 24and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, |
| 25then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver. | 25then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. |
| 26For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. | 26Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God. |
| 27You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows. | 27You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. |
| 28You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. | 28What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways. |
| 29For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride’; but he saves the lowly. | 29When people are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast. |
| 30He delivers even the one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.” | 30He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands." |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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