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 22,27 Hiob 22,27
Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving;And pay thy vows unto the Most High;
Thy vows are upon me, O God:I will render thank-offerings unto thee.
And call upon me in the day of trouble:I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
I will come into thy house with burnt-offerings;I will pay thee my vows,
I cried unto him with my mouth,And {Or, as otherwise read. high praise was under my tongue}he was extolled with my tongue.
Which my lips uttered,And my mouth spake, when I was in distress.
If I {Or, had regarded}regard iniquity in my heart,The Lord {Or, would}will not hear:
But verily God hath heard;He hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,Who hath not turned away my prayer,Nor his lovingkindness from me.
I will pay my vows unto Jehovah,Yea, in the presence of all his people.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;I will be with him in trouble:I will deliver him, and honor him.
When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou vowest.
I love Jehovah, because he hearethMy voice and my supplications.
But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving;I will pay that which I have vowed.Salvation is of Jehovah.
Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am.If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;
And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us:
and if we know that he heareth us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him.