Then answered Eliphaz the Temanite, and said,
Can a man be profitable unto God?
Surely he that is wise is profitable unto himself.
Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous?
Or is it gain to him, that thou makest thy ways perfect?
Is it {Or, for fear of thee}for thy fear of him that he reproveth thee,
That he entereth with thee into judgment?
Is not thy wickedness great?
Neither is there any end to thine iniquities.
For thou hast taken pledges of thy brother for nought,
And stripped the naked of their clothing.
Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink,
And thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.
But as for the {Hebrew: the man of arm.}mighty man, he had the {Or, land}earth;
And {Hebrew: he whose person is accepted.}the honorable man, he dwelt in it.
Thou hast sent widows away empty,
And the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
Therefore snares are round about thee,
And sudden fear troubleth thee,
{Or, Or dost thou not see the darkness, And the flood of waters that covereth thee?}Or darkness, so that thou canst not see,
And abundance of waters cover thee.
Is not God in the height of heaven?
And behold the {Hebrew: head.}height of the stars, how high they are!
And thou sayest, What doth God know?
Can he judge through the thick darkness?
Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he seeth not;
And he walketh on the vault of heaven.
{Or, Dost thou mark}Wilt thou keep the old way
Which wicked men have trodden?
Who were snatched away before their time,
Whose foundation was poured out as a stream,
Who said unto God, Depart from us;
And, What can the Almighty do {Or, to}for {Hebrew: them.}us?
Yet he filled their houses with good things:
But the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
The righteous see it, and are glad;
And the innocent laugh them to scorn,
Saying, Surely they that did rise up against us are cut off,
And the {Or, that which remained to them Or, their abundance}remnant of them the fire hath consumed.
Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace:
{Or,as otherwise read, Thereby shall thine increase be good.}Thereby good shall come unto thee.
Receive, I pray thee, {Or, instruction}the law from his mouth,
And lay up his words in thy heart.
If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up,
{Or, Thou shall put away…And shall lay up}If thou put away unrighteousness far from thy tents.
And lay thou thy {Hebrew: ore.}treasure {Or, on the earth}in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks;
And the Almighty will be thy {Hebrew: ore.}treasure,
And {Or, precious silver shall be thine}precious silver unto thee.
For then shalt thou delight thyself in the Almighty,
And shalt lift up thy face unto God.
Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he will hear thee;
And thou shalt pay thy vows.
Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee;
And light shall shine upon thy ways.
When they {Or, are made low}cast thee down, thou shalt say, There is lifting up;
And {Hebrew: him that is lowly of eyes.}the humble person he will save.
He will deliver even him that is not innocent:
Yea, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of thy hands.
Querverweise zu Hiob 22,2 Hiob 22,2
If thou hast sinned, what effectest thou against him?And if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?
If thou be righteous, what givest thou him?Or what receiveth he of thy hand?
Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art;And thy righteousness may profit a son of man.
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?And what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
O my soul, thou hast said unto Jehovah, Thou art {Or, the Lord}my Lord:I have no good beyond thee.
to keep the commandments of Jehovah, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable {Greek: bondservants.}servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,And the man that {Hebrew: draweth forth.}getteth understanding.
For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver,And the profit thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies:And none of the things thou canst desire are to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand;In her left hand are riches and honor.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,And all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:And happy is every one that retaineth her.
{Or, The beginning of wisdom is, Get wisdom}Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom;Yea, with all {Or, thou hast gotten}thy getting get understanding.
Exalt her, and she will promote thee;She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace;A crown of {Or, glory}beauty will she deliver to thee.
If thou art wise, thou art wise for thyself;And if thou scoffest, thou alone shalt bear it.
Wisdom {Or, is good together with an inheritance, and profitable unto them &c.}is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun.
For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it.
And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into {Greek: Gehenna.}hell.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.