Job 22 — FBV

22Verse 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite responded and said,^{Verse 2}“How can anyone be of help to God? Even wise people are only helpful to themselves.^{Verse 3}Is it any benefit to the Almighty if you're a good person?⁺What does he gain if you do what's right?^{Verse 4}Does he correct you and bring charges against you because of your reverence?^{+Verse 5}No: it's because you're so wicked! Your sins are never-ending!^{Verse 6}For no reason at all you took your brother's clothing as a security for a debt, and left them stripped naked.^{Verse 7}You refused water to the thirsty; you denied food to the hungry.^{Verse 8}Is it because the land belongs to the powerful, and only the privileged have a right to live there?^{+Verse 9}You have sent widows away empty-handed; you have crushed the outstretched arms of orphans, begging for help.^{+Verse 10}That's why you're surrounded by traps to catch you, and why you suddenly panic in terror.^{Verse 11}That's why it's so dark you cannot see, and why you feel like you're drowning.^{+Verse 12}Doesn't God live high in heaven and looks down on even the highest stars?^{Verse 13}But you ask, ‘What does God know? How can he see and judge what happens down here in darkness?^{Verse 14}Thick clouds cover him so he can't see anything as he walks around in heaven.’^{+Verse 15}Why do you insist on following the traditional thinking of the wicked?^{+Verse 16}They were taken before their time; all they had built was washed away.^{Verse 17}They had told God, ‘Get lost! What can the Almighty do to us?’^{Verse 18}And yet he was the one who had filled their homes with good things—but I don't accept their way of thinking.^{+Verse 19}Those who do right rejoice when they see the destruction of the wicked,⁺and the innocent mock them,^{Verse 20}saying, ‘Our enemies are destroyed, and fire has burned up all that's left of them.’^{Verse 21}Come back to God and be reconciled to him, and you'll be prosperous again.^{Verse 22}Listen to what he tells you and keep his words in mind.^{Verse 23}If you return to God you will be restored. If you renounce your sinful life^{+Verse 24}and give up your love of money and desire for possessions,^{+Verse 25}then the Almighty will be your gold and your precious silver.^{Verse 26}Then you will find delight in the Almighty, and be able to face him without feeling ashamed.^{Verse 27}You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will keep your promises to him.^{Verse 28}Whatever you decide to do will be successful, and wherever you go, light will shine on you.^{Verse 29}When others are humbled, and you say, ‘please help them,’ God will save them.^{Verse 30}God saves those who are innocent, and you will be saved if you do what is right.”⁺