1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said, 2 Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself? 3 Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to him , that thou makest thy ways perfect? 4 Will he reprove thee for fear of thee? will he enter with thee into judgment?
5 Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? 6 For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. 7 Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. 8 But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. 9 Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken. 10 Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden fear troubleth thee; 11 Or darkness, that thou canst not see; and abundance of waters cover thee. 12 Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! 13 And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? 14 Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.
15 Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? 16 Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a flood: 17 Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them? 18 Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is far from me. 19 The righteous see it , and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn. 20 Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.
21 Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee. 22 Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. 23 If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. 24 Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brooks. 25 Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. 26 For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. 27 Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. 28 Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways. 29 When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he shall save the humble person. 30 He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the pureness of thine hands.
1 Ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Ελιφας ὁ Θαιμανίτης λέγει
2 Πότερον οὐχὶ ὁ κύριός ἐστιν ὁ διδάσκων σύνεσιν καὶ ἐπιστήμην;
3 τί γὰρ μέλει τῷ κυρίῳ, ἐὰν σὺ ἦσθα τοῖς ἔργοις ἄμεμπτος;* ἢ ὠφέλεια ὅτι ἁπλώσῃς τὴν ὁδόν σου;‡
4 ἦ λόγον σου ποιούμενος ἐλέγξει σε καὶ συνεισελεύσεταί σοι εἰς κρίσιν;
5 πότερον οὐχ ἡ κακία σού ἐστιν πολλή, ἀναρίθμητοι δέ σού εἰσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι;
6 ἠνεχύραζες δὲ τοὺς ἀδελφούς σου διὰ κενῆς, ἀμφίασιν δὲ γυμνῶν ἀφείλου·
7 οὐδὲ ὕδωρ διψῶντας ἐπότισας, ἀλλὰ πεινώντων ἐστέρησας ψωμόν·
8 ἐθαύμασας δέ τινων πρόσωπον, ᾤκισας δὲ τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς·
9 χήρας δὲ ἐξαπέστειλας κενάς, ὀρφανοὺς δὲ ἐκάκωσας.
10 τοιγαροῦν ἐκύκλωσάν σε παγίδες, καὶ ἐσπούδασέν σε πόλεμος ἐξαίσιος·
11 τὸ φῶς σοι σκότος ἀπέβη, κοιμηθέντα δὲ ὕδωρ σε ἐκάλυψεν.
12 μὴ οὐχὶ ὁ τὰ ὑψηλὰ ναίων ἐφορᾷ, τοὺς δὲ ὕβρει φερομένους ἐταπείνωσεν;
13 καὶ εἶπας Τί ἔγνω ὁ ἰσχυρός;* ἦ κατὰ τοῦ γνόφου κρινεῖ;
14 νέφη ἀποκρυφὴ αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐχ ὁραθήσεται* καὶ γῦρον οὐρανοῦ διαπορεύσεται.
15 μὴ τρίβον αἰώνιον φυλάξεις,* ἣν ἐπάτησαν ἄνδρες ἄδικοι,
16 οἳ συνελήμφθησαν ἄωροι;* ποταμὸς ἐπιρρέων οἱ θεμέλιοι αὐτῶν‡
17 οἱ λέγοντες Κύριος τί ποιήσει ἡμῖν; ἢ τί ἐπάξεται ἡμῖν ὁ παντοκράτωρ;
18 ὃς δὲ ἐνέπλησεν τοὺς οἴκους αὐτῶν ἀγαθῶν, βουλὴ δὲ ἀσεβῶν πόρρω ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ.
19 ἰδόντες δίκαιοι ἐγέλασαν, ἄμεμπτος δὲ ἐμυκτήρισεν.
20 εἰ μὴ ἠφανίσθη ἡ ὑπόστασις αὐτῶν,* καὶ τὸ κατάλειμμα αὐτῶν καταφάγεται πῦρ.‡
21 γενοῦ δὴ σκληρός, ἐὰν ὑπομείνῃς· εἶτ᾽ ὁ καρπός σου ἔσται ἐν ἀγαθοῖς.
22 ἔκλαβε δὲ ἐκ στόματος αὐτοῦ ἐξηγορίαν καὶ ἀνάλαβε τὰ ῥήματα αὐτοῦ ἐν καρδίᾳ σου.
23 ἐὰν δὲ ἐπιστραφῇς καὶ ταπεινώσῃς σεαυτὸν ἔναντι κυρίου, πόρρω ἐποίησας ἀπὸ διαίτης σου τὸ ἄδικον.
24 θήσῃ ἐπὶ χώματι ἐν πέτρᾳ* καὶ ὡς πέτρᾳ χειμάρρους Ωφιρ.‡
25 ἔσται οὖν σου ὁ παντοκράτωρ βοηθὸς ἀπὸ ἐχθρῶν, καθαρὸν δὲ ἀποδώσει σε ὥσπερ ἀργύριον πεπυρωμένον.
26 εἶτα παρρησιασθήσῃ ἔναντι κυρίου ἀναβλέψας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἱλαρῶς·
27 εὐξαμένου δέ σου πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰσακούσεταί σου, δώσει δέ σοι ἀποδοῦναι τὰς εὐχάς·
28 ἀποκαταστήσει δέ σοι δίαιταν δικαιοσύνης, ἐπὶ δὲ ὁδοῖς σου ἔσται φέγγος.
29 ὅτι ἐταπείνωσεν αὐτόν, καὶ ἐρεῖς Ὑπερηφανεύσατο,* καὶ κύφοντα ὀφθαλμοῖς σώσει·
30 ῥύσεται ἀθῷον,* καὶ διασώθητι ἐν καθαραῖς χερσίν σου.‡