And Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said,

Can a man of might be of any use to God?
No, a man of insight is of use only to himself.

Is it a matter of delight to the Almighty that you are righteous?
Or is it a gain to Him that you make your ways perfect?

Is it because of your fear of Him that He reproves you,
That He enters into judgment with you?

Is not your wickedness great,
And is there no end to your iniquities?

For you have taken pledges from your brothers without cause
And stripped the naked of their clothing.

You have not given water to the weary to drink,
And you have withheld bread from the hungry.

And as for the man of power, the earth was his;
And the man of honor dwelt in it.

You have sent away the widows empty,
And the arms of the orphans have been crushed.

Therefore snares are all around you;
And sudden dread troubles you,

Or darkness, so that you cannot see;
And an abundance of waters covers you.

Is not God at the height of heaven?
And look at the highest of the stars, how lofty they are!

And you say, What does God know?
Can He judge through the deep darkness?

Thick clouds are a covering to Him, so He cannot see;
And He walks upon the circle of the heavens.

Will you keep the old way,
Which wicked men have trodden?

Such were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundation was poured forth like a stream;

Who said to God, Depart from us;
And, What can the Almighty accomplish for  ¹us?

Yet He fills their houses with good things.
But the counsel of the wicked is far from  ¹Him.

The righteous see and rejoice,
And the innocent deride them,

Saying, Surely those who rose up against us are cut off,
And the remnant of them the fire has devoured.

 ¹Be well disposed to Him and at peace with Him;
By such, good will come upon you.

Receive instruction from His mouth,
And lay up His words in your heart.

If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up.
If you put injustice far away from your tents,

And place your gold nuggets in the dust
And your gold of Ophir in the stones of the brooks,

Then the Almighty will be your gold nuggets
And precious silver to you.

For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty,
And you will lift up your countenance to God.

You will pray to Him, and He will hear you;
And you will repay your vows.

You will also decree something, and it will be established for you;
And light will shine on your ways.

When they cast you down, you will say, I am up!
And the lowly person He will save.

He will deliver him who is not innocent;
Yes,  ¹you will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.

Then Job answered and said,

Today also my complaint is  ¹bitter;
My stroke is heavy because of my groaning.

Oh that I knew where I might find Him,
That I might come to His seat!

I would present my cause in order before Him,
And I would fill my mouth with arguments.

I would know the words which He would answer me,
And I would understand what He would speak to me.

Would He contend with me in the greatness of His power?
No; but He would give heed to me.

There the upright man can argue with Him;
So I would be delivered forever from my Judge.

Behold, I go  ¹forward, but He is not there;
And  ¹backward, but I do not perceive Him;

To the  ¹left, where He acts, but I cannot look on Him;
He hides Himself on the  ¹right, so I cannot see Him.

But He knows the way that I take;
Should He try me, I would come forth as gold.

My foot has held fast to His steps;
I have kept His way and have not turned aside.

As for the commandment of His lips, I have not turned back from it;
I have treasured the words of His mouth  ¹more than my apportioned food.

But He is of one mind, and who can turn Him?
And what His soul desires, that will He do.

For He performs what has been appointed to me,
And many such things are with Him.

Therefore I am terrified at His presence;
I consider and am in dread of Him.

So God has made my heart faint,
And the Almighty has terrified me;

Because I was not cut off before the darkness,
Nor did He cover the deep darkness from my face.

Why are times of judgment not stored up by the Almighty?
And why do those who know Him not see His days?

Some remove landmarks;
They seize the flock and pasture them.

They drive away the donkey of the fatherless
And take the widow's ox as a pledge.

They turn the needy out of the way;
The poor of the land are made to hide together.

Indeed, like wild asses in the desert,
They go forth to their work,
Diligently seeking some prey;
The wilderness provides them food for their children.

In the field they harvest their fodder,
And they glean the vintage of the wicked.

They spend the night naked, without clothing;
And have no covering in the cold.

They are wet from the mountain showers,
And for lack of shelter they embrace the rock.

Some pluck the fatherless from the breast,
And what the poor has on, as a pledge.

They go about naked, without clothing;
And being hungry, they take up the sheaves.

Between their walls they press out oil;
They tread the winepresses yet suffer thirst.

From the city men groan,
And the soul of the wounded cries out;
Yet God does not regard the folly.

These are among those who rebel against the light;
They are not acquainted with its ways,
Nor do they abide in its paths.

The murderer rises at dawn;
He kills the poor and the needy;
And at night he is like a thief.

The eye of the adulterer also watches for the twilight,
Saying, Not an eye will see me;
And he disguises his face.

They dig through houses in the dark;
By day they shut themselves in:
They do not know the light.

For morning is to all of them like the shadow of death,
Because they are acquainted with the terrors of the shadow of death.

Swift are they upon the face of the waters;
Their portion is cursed in the earth;
There is none who turns toward the vineyards.

Drought and heat snatch the snow water,
As Sheol snatches those who have sinned.

The womb forgets him;
The worm finds him sweet;
He is remembered no more;
And wrongdoing is broken like a tree.

He despoils the barren woman who does not bear,
And does no good for the widow.

But God preserves the mighty by His power;
He arises, and no one is certain of life.

He grants  ¹a man to be secure, and he rests on it;
And His eyes are upon their ways.

They are exalted a little while, then they are no more;
And they are brought low; like all others, they are gathered in
And are cut off like the tops of the ears of grain.

And if it is not so, then who will prove me a liar
And bring my words to nought?