Moff JOS 1 CHR 2 CHR EZRA NEH EST JOB PSA PROV ECC SNG JER LAM EZE DAN HOS JOEL AMOS OBA YNA MIC NAH HAB ZEP HAG ZEC MAL MAT MARK LUKE YHN ACTs ROM 1 COR 2 COR GAL EPH PHP COL 1 TH 2 TH 1 TIM 2 TIM TIT PHM HEB YAC 1 PET 2 PET 1 YHN 2 YHN 3 YHN YUD REV

JOB C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 C36 C37 C38 C39 C40 C41

Moff JOB Chapter 22

◄ JOB 22 ► ║ ═ ©

(--to him who fills them 18 with prosperity!

Far be such impious thoughts from me!)

Are they not masters of their fortunes?

Does God concern himself with what they scheme?

How often does he extinguish evil men?

Tell me how often calamity befalls them!

How often does God rack them in his anger?

How often are they mere straws before the wind,

chaff swept before the storm?

‘God,’ you say, ‘punishes the children for it’?

Better he made the men themselves feel punishment!

The evil man should witness his own ruin,

and drink the Almighty’s anger for himself.

What interest has he in his family,

once his own span of life is snapped?

Does God draw any difference between men?

In high heaven is he governing this world?

Why, one man dies, robust and hale,

in full peace and prosperity;

his powers are full and fresh,

his health is sound.

Another man dies, brokenhearted,

and never gets the good of life.

Both lie down in the dust together,

and worms swarm over both of them.

I know what you are thinking,

I know the cruel wrong you do me.

Why offer me your idle consolations,

when all you urge is false?

‘What of the tyrant’s house?’ you ask,

‘where are the dwellings of evil men?’

Well, talk to travellers,

learn what they have to tell:

of how an evil man is spared calamity,

how he goes scatheless from the wrath of God.

Who ever tells him plainly what 31 he is?

Who ever punishes him for his misdeeds?

No, he is carried to a stately grave,

and all men follow his great funeral;

quiet he lies amid the clods,

and well his tomb is cared for.”

22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:

“Can man offer God any insight,

so that a sage should be of use to him?

Has the Almighty any interest in your goodness?

Does he gain by your blameless life?

Why should he punish you for your religion,

and pass sentence on you?

Grave must your guilt be,

endless your sins.

You have fleeced your fellows selfishly,

and stripped your debtors to the skin;

you have not given the weary any water,

the hungry you have starved;

you have sent widows away empty-handed,

you have been oppressing orphans,

to let the powerful hold the land,

to let squires settle down.

Therefore it is that snares close on you,

and panic fear is scaring you;

therefore has your light turned to darkness,

and floods have overwhelmed you.

Is not God high in heaven?

Does he not look down on the topmost star?

And yet you say, ‘God never notices!

Can he rule through the darkness dense?

He moves on the high vault of heaven;

he cannot see us for the clouds that veil him.’

Is that the line you choose,

the line that evil men took long ago?

They came to an untimely end;

when the floods undermined them,

good men rejoiced to see their fate,

and over them the guiltless jeered,

shouting, ‘Our* foes are now effaced,

and what they leave the flames will bum!’

Give way to God, submit to him,

and it will mean prosperity for you;

accept the orders that he issues,

take his words to heart.

If you turn humbly to the Almighty,

and banish evil from your home,

[[if you will throw your treasures to the ground,

and fling your gold of Ophir in the stream,

and make the Almighty himself your treasure,

sound wisdom your wealth,]]

then the Almighty shall be a joy to you,

and you can raise your eyes to God;

when you pray, he will answer you,

and then you can fulfil your vows to him;

whatever you plan shall prosper,

and you shall live in sunshine;

for he humbles haughty upstarts,

and he helps the lowly,

he saves those who are guiltless,

rescuing them for their unspotted record.”

JOB C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28 C29 C30 C31 C32 C33 C34 C35 C36 C37 C38 C39 C40 C41