| NET Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered: | 1Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied: |
| 2"Is it to God that a strong man is of benefit? Is it to him that even a wise man is profitable? | 2Can a man be of any use to God? Can even a wise man be of use to Him? |
| 3Is it of any special benefit to the Almighty that you should be righteous, or is it any gain to him that you make your ways blameless? | 3Does it delight the Almighty if you are righteous? Does He profit if you perfect your behavior? |
| 4Is it because of your piety that he rebukes you and goes to judgment with you? | 4Does He correct you and take you to court because of your piety? |
| 5Is not your wickedness great and is there no end to your iniquity? | 5Isn't your wickedness abundant and aren't your iniquities endless? |
| 6"For you took pledges from your brothers for no reason, and you stripped the clothing from the naked. | 6For you took collateral from your brothers without cause, stripping off their clothes and leaving them naked. |
| 7You gave the weary no water to drink and from the hungry you withheld food. | 7You gave no water to the thirsty and withheld food from the famished, |
| 8Although you were a powerful man, owning land, an honored man living on it, | 8while the land belonged to a powerful man and an influential man lived on it. |
| 9you sent widows away empty-handed, and the arms of the orphans you crushed. | 9You sent widows away empty-handed, and the strength of the fatherless was crushed. |
| 10That is why snares surround you, and why sudden fear terrifies you, | 10Therefore snares surround you, and sudden dread terrifies you, |
| 11why it is so dark you cannot see, and why a flood of water covers you. | 11or darkness, so you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you. |
| 12"Is not God on high in heaven? And see the lofty stars, how high they are! | 12Isn't God as high as the heavens? And look at the highest stars--how lofty they are! |
| 13But you have said, 'What does God know? Does he judge through such deep darkness? | 13Yet you say: "What does God know? Can He judge through thick darkness? |
| 14Thick clouds are a veil for him, so he does not see us, as he goes back and forth in the vault of heaven.' | 14Clouds veil Him so that He cannot see, as He walks on the circle of the sky." |
| 15Will you keep to the old path that evil men have walked-- | 15Will you continue on the ancient path that wicked men have walked? |
| 16men who were carried off before their time, when the flood was poured out on their foundations? | 16They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were washed away by a river. |
| 17They were saying to God, 'Turn away from us,' and 'What can the Almighty do to us?' | 17They were the ones who said to God, "Leave us alone!" and "What can the Almighty do to us?" |
| 18But it was he who filled their houses with good things--yet the counsel of the wicked was far from me. | 18But it was He who filled their houses with good things. The counsel of the wicked is far from me! |
| 19The righteous see their destruction and rejoice; the innocent mock them scornfully, saying, | 19The righteous see this and rejoice; the innocent mock them, saying, |
| 20Surely our enemies are destroyed, and fire consumes their wealth.' | 20"Surely our opponents are destroyed, and fire has consumed what they left behind." |
| 21"Reconcile yourself with God, and be at peace with him; in this way your prosperity will be good. | 21Come to terms with God and be at peace; in this way good will come to you. |
| 22Accept instruction from his mouth and store up his words in your heart. | 22Receive instruction from His mouth, and place His sayings in your heart. |
| 23If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; if you remove wicked behavior far from your tent, | 23If you return to the Almighty, you will be renewed. If you banish injustice from your tent |
| 24and throw your gold in the dust--your gold of Ophir among the rocks in the ravines-- | 24and consign your gold to the dust, the gold of Ophir to the stones in the wadis, |
| 25then the Almighty himself will be your gold, and the choicest silver for you. | 25the Almighty will be your gold and your finest silver. |
| 26Surely then you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and will lift up your face toward God. | 26Then you will delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. |
| 27You will pray to him and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows to him. | 27You will pray to Him, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows. |
| 28Whatever you decide on a matter, it will be established for you, and light will shine on your ways. | 28When you make a decision, it will be carried out, and light will shine on your ways. |
| 29When people are brought low and you say 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast; | 29When others are humiliated and you say, "Lift them up," God will save the humble. |
| 30he will deliver even someone who is not innocent, who will escape through the cleanness of your hands." | 30He will even rescue the guilty one, who will be rescued by the purity of your hands. |
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