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 22,25 Hiob 22,25
After these things the word of Jehovah came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, {Or, thy reward shall be exceeding great}and thy exceeding great reward.
Jehovah is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:Thou maintainest my lot.
Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge;My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower.
The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places;Yea, I have a goodly heritage.
For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield:Jehovah will give grace and glory;No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
{Or, And abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times}And there shall be stability in thy times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge: the fear of Jehovah is {Hebrew: his.}thy treasure.
fear thou not, for I am with thee; {Or, look not around thee}be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Hearken, my beloved brethren; did not God choose them that are poor as to the world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he promised to them that love him?