1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said , 2Can a man be profitable unto God , as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? 3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty , that thou art righteous ? or is it gain to him , that thou makest thy ways perfect ? 4Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment ? 5Is not thy wickedness great ? and thine iniquities infinite ? 6For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought , and stripped the naked of their clothing . 7Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink , and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry . 8But as for the mighty man , he had the earth ; and the honourable man dwelt in it. 9Thou hast sent widows away empty , and the arms of the fatherless have been broken . 10Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; 11Or darkness , that thou canst not see ; and abundance of waters cover thee.
Call to Repentance
12Is not God in the height of heaven ? and behold the height of the stars , how high they are! 13And thou sayest , How doth God know ? can he judge through the dark cloud ? 14Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven . 15Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden ? 16Which were cut down out of time , whose foundation was overflown with a flood : 17Which said unto God , Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them? 18Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19The righteous see it , and are glad : and the innocent laugh them to scorn . 20Whereas our substance is not cut down , but the remnant of them the fire consumeth .
The Nature of God and Human Limitations
21Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace : thereby good shall come unto thee. 22Receive , I pray thee, the law from his mouth , and lay up his words in thine heart . 23If thou return to the Almighty , thou shalt be built up , thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles . 24Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust , and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks . 25Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence , and thou shalt have plenty of silver . 26For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty , and shalt lift up thy face unto God . 27Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows . 28Thou shalt also decree a thing , and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways . 29When men are cast down , then thou shalt say , There is lifting up ; and he shall save the humble person . 30He shall deliver the island of the innocent : and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands .