| Holman Christian Standard Bible | New International Version |
| 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: | 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
| 2Can a man be of any use to God? Can even a wise man be of use to Him? | 2"Can a man be of benefit to God? Can even a wise person benefit him? |
| 3Does it delight the Almighty if you are righteous? Does He profit if you perfect your behavior? | 3What pleasure would it give the Almighty if you were righteous? What would he gain if your ways were blameless? |
| 4Does He correct you and take you to court because of your piety? | 4"Is it for your piety that he rebukes you and brings charges against you? |
| 5Isn't your wickedness abundant and aren't your iniquities endless? | 5Is not your wickedness great? Are not your sins endless? |
| 6For you took collateral from your brothers without cause, stripping off their clothes and leaving them naked. | 6You demanded security from your relatives for no reason; you stripped people of their clothing, leaving them naked. |
| 7You gave no water to the thirsty and withheld food from the famished, | 7You gave no water to the weary and you withheld food from the hungry, |
| 8while the land belonged to a powerful man and an influential man lived on it. | 8though you were a powerful man, owning land-- an honored man, living on it. |
| 9You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed. | 9And you sent widows away empty-handed and broke the strength of the fatherless. |
| 10Therefore snares surround you, and sudden dread terrifies you, | 10That is why snares are all around you, why sudden peril terrifies you, |
| 11or darkness, so 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. |
| 12Isn't God as high as the heavens? And look at the highest stars--how lofty they are! | 12"Is not God in the heights of heaven? And see how lofty are the highest stars! |
| 13Yet you say: "What does God know? Can He judge through thick darkness? | 13Yet you say, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such darkness? |
| 14Clouds veil Him so that He cannot see, as He walks on the circle of the sky." | 14Thick clouds veil him, so he does not see us as he goes about in the vaulted heavens.' |
| 15Will you continue on the ancient path that wicked men have walked? | 15Will you keep to the old path that the wicked have trod? |
| 16They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were washed away by a river. | 16They were carried off before their time, their foundations washed away by a flood. |
| 17They were the ones who said to God, "Leave us alone!" and "What can the Almighty do to us?" | 17They said to God, 'Leave us alone! What can the Almighty do to us?' |
| 18But it was He who filled their houses with good things. 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 this and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, | 19The righteous see their ruin and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, |
| 20"Surely our opponents are destroyed, and fire has consumed what they left behind." | 20Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire devours their wealth.' |
| 21Come to terms with God and be at peace; in this way 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 place His sayings 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 renewed. If you banish injustice from your tent | 23If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored: If you remove wickedness far from your tent |
| 24and consign your gold to the dust, the gold of Ophir to the stones in the wadis, | 24and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, |
| 25the Almighty will be your gold and your finest silver. | 25then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you. |
| 26Then you will delight 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 pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. | 27You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. |
| 28When you make a decision, it will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways. | 28What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways. |
| 29When others are humiliated and you say, "Lift them up," God will save the humble. | 29When people are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast. |
| 30He will even rescue the guilty one, who will be rescued by the purity of your hands. | 30He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands." |
| Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. | 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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