Holman Christian Standard Bible

New Living Translation

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 person do anything to help God? Can even a wise person be helpful to him?

3Does it delight the Almighty if you are righteous? Does He profit if you perfect your behavior?

3Is it any advantage to the Almighty if you are righteous? Would it be any gain to him if you were perfect?

4Does He correct you and take you to court because of your piety?

4Is it because you’re so pious that he accuses you and brings judgment against you?

5Isn't your wickedness abundant and aren't your iniquities endless?

5No, it’s because of your wickedness! There’s no limit to your sins.

6For you took collateral from your brothers without cause, stripping off their clothes and leaving them naked.

6“For example, you must have lent money to your friend and demanded clothing as security. Yes, you stripped him to the bone.

7You gave no water to the thirsty and withheld food from the famished,

7You must have refused water for the thirsty and food for the hungry.

8while the land belonged to a powerful man and an influential man lived on it.

8You probably think the land belongs to the powerful and only the privileged have a right to it!

9You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed.

9You must have sent widows away empty-handed and crushed the hopes of orphans.

10Therefore snares surround you, and sudden dread terrifies you,

10That is why you are surrounded by traps and tremble from sudden fears.

11or darkness, so you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.

11That is why you cannot see in the darkness, and waves of water cover you.

12Isn't God as high as the heavens? And look at the highest stars--how lofty they are!

12“God is so great—higher than the heavens, higher than the farthest stars.

13Yet you say: "What does God know? Can He judge through thick darkness?

13But you reply, ‘That’s why God can’t see what I am doing! How can he judge through the thick darkness?

14Clouds veil Him so that He cannot see, as He walks on the circle of the sky."

14For thick clouds swirl about him, and he cannot see us. He is way up there, walking on the vault of heaven.’

15Will you continue on the ancient path that wicked men have walked?

15“Will you continue on the old paths where evil people have walked?

16They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were washed away by a river.

16They were snatched away in the prime of life, the foundations of their lives washed away.

17They were the ones who said to God, "Leave us alone!" and "What can the Almighty do to us?"

17For they 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 he was the one who filled their homes with good things, so I will have nothing to do with that kind of thinking.

19The righteous see this and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying,

19“The righteous will be happy to see the wicked destroyed, and the innocent will laugh in contempt.

20"Surely our opponents are destroyed, and fire has consumed what they left behind."

20They will say, ‘See how our enemies have been destroyed. The last of them have been consumed in the fire.’

21Come to terms with God and be at peace; in this way good will come to you.

21“Submit to God, and you will have peace; then things will go well for you.

22Receive instruction from His mouth, and place His sayings in your heart.

22Listen to his instructions, and store them 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— so clean up your life.

24and consign your gold to the dust, the gold of Ophir to the stones in the wadis,

24If you give up your lust for money and throw your precious gold into the river,

25the Almighty will be your gold and your finest silver.

25the Almighty himself will be your treasure. He will be your precious silver!

26Then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God.

26“Then you will take delight in the Almighty and look up 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 to him.

28When you make a decision, it will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways.

28You will succeed in whatever you choose to do, and light will shine on the road ahead of you.

29When others are humiliated and you say, "Lift them up," God will save the humble.

29If people are in trouble and you say, ‘Help them,’ God will save them.

30He will even rescue the guilty one, who will be rescued by the purity of your hands.

30Even sinners will be rescued; they will be rescued because your hands are pure.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.