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 respondens autem Eliphaz Themanites dixit
2 numquid Deo conparari potest homo
etiam cum perfectae fuerit scientiae
3 quid prodest Deo si iustus fueris
aut quid ei confers si inmaculata fuerit via tua
4 numquid timens arguet te
et veniet tecum in iudicium
5 et non propter malitiam tuam plurimam et infinitas iniquitates tuas
6 abstulisti enim pignus fratrum tuorum sine causa
et nudos spoliasti vestibus
7 aquam lasso non dedisti et esurienti subtraxisti panem
8 in fortitudine brachii tui possidebas terram
et potentissimus obtinebas eam
9 viduas dimisisti vacuas et lacertos pupillorum comminuisti
10 propterea circumdatus es laqueis et conturbat te formido subita
11 et putabas te tenebras non visurum
et impetu aquarum inundantium non oppressurum
12 an cogitas quod Deus excelsior caelo
et super stellarum vertices sublimetur
13 et dicis quid enim novit Deus
et quasi per caliginem iudicat
14 nubes latibulum eius nec nostra considerat
et circa cardines caeli perambulat
15 numquid semitam saeculorum custodire cupis
quam calcaverunt viri iniqui
16 qui sublati sunt ante tempus suum
et fluvius subvertit fundamentum eorum
17 qui dicebant Deo recede a nobis
et quasi nihil possit facere Omnipotens aestimabant
eum
18 cum ille implesset domos eorum bonis
quorum sententia procul sit a me
19 videbunt iusti et laetabuntur et innocens subsannabit eos
20 nonne succisa est erectio eorum et reliquias eorum devoravit ignis
21 adquiesce igitur ei et habeto pacem
et per haec habebis fructus optimos
22 suscipe ex ore illius legem et pone sermones eius in corde tuo
23 si reversus fueris ad Omnipotentem aedificaberis
et longe facies iniquitatem a tabernaculo tuo
24 dabit pro terra silicem et pro silice torrentes aureos
25 eritque Omnipotens contra hostes tuos
et argentum coacervabitur tibi
26 tunc super Omnipotentem deliciis afflues
et elevabis ad Deum faciem tuam
27 rogabis eum et exaudiet te et vota tua reddes
28 decernes rem et veniet tibi
et in viis tuis splendebit lumen
29 qui enim humiliatus fuerit erit in gloria et qui inclinaverit oculos suos ipse salvabitur
30 salvabitur innocens salvabitur autem munditia manuum suarum