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.

1Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered, and said,

2Can a man be profitable vnto God? as hee that is wise may be profitable vnto himselfe.

3Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gaine to him, that thou makest thy waies perfite?

4Will hee reproue thee for feare of thee? will he enter with thee into iudgment?

5Is not thy wickednesse great? and thine iniquities infinite?

6For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing.

7Thou hast not giuen water to the wearie to drinke, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry.

8But as for the mightie man, hee had the earth, and the honourable man dwelt in it.

9Thou hast sent widowes away emptie, and the armes of the fatherlesse haue bene broken.

10Therefore snares are round about thee, and sudden feare troubleth thee,

11Or darkenes that thou canst not see, and abundance of waters couer thee.

12Is not God in the height of heauen? and behold the height of the starres how high they are.

13And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he iudge through the darke cloude?

14Thicke cloudes are a couering to him that he seeth not, and hee walketh in the circuit of heauen.

15Hast thou marked the olde way which wicked men haue troden?

16Which were cut downe out of time, whose foundation was ouerflowen with a flood.

17Which said vnto God, Depart from vs, and what can the Almightie doe for them?

18Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsell of the wicked is farre from me.

19The righteous see it, and are glad, and the innocent laugh them to scorne.

20Whereas our substance is not cut downe, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

21Acquaint now thy selfe with him, and be at peace: thereby good shal come vnto thee.

22Receiue, I pray thee, the Lawe from his mouth, and lay vp his words in thine heart.

23If thou returne to the Almightie, thou shalt be built vp, thou shalt put away iniquitie farre from thy tabernacles.

24Then shalt thou lay vp golde as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of the brookes.

25Yea the Almightie shall bee thy defence, and thou shalt haue plenty of siluer.

26For then shalt thou haue thy delight in the Almightie, and shalt lift vp thy face vnto God.

27Thou shalt make thy prayer vnto him, and he shall heare thee, and thou shalt pay thy vowes.

28Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shal be established vnto thee: and the light shall shine vpon thy wayes.

29When men are cast downe, then thou shalt say, There is lifting vp: and he shall saue the humble person.

30He shall deliuer the Iland of the innocent: and it is deliuered by the purenesse of thine hands.

I == Job 35:7 ; Ps 16:2 ; Luke 17:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ex 22:26-27 ; Deut 24:10-13 ; Job 24:3 , 9 ; Ezek 18:12

VII == Deut 15:7-11 ; Job 31:17 : Isa 58:7 ; Ezek 18:7 , 16 ; Matt 25:42

IX == Job 31:21 ; Isa 10:2 ; Ezek 22:7

X == Job 18:8-10 ; 19:1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XVII == Job 21:14 ; Ps 4:6

XVIII == Job 21:16

 

 

XIX == Ps 58:10 ; 107:42

 

XXI == Isa 27:5

XXII == Ps 119:11

 

XXIII == Job 8:5-6 ; 11:13-14

 

XXIV == 2nd Chr 1:15

 

XXVI == Job 11:15 ; 27:10 ; Isa 58:14

 

XXVII == Ps 50:14-15 ; Isa 58:9

 

 

XXIX == Prov 29:23 ; James 4:6 ; 1st Peter 5:5

 

XXX == Gen 18:26-33

1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:

2 Can a man be profitable to God? Though to himself a wise man be profitable!

3 Is it of advantage to the Almighty if you are just? Or is it a gain to him if you make your ways perfect?

4 Is it because of your piety that he reproves you - that he enters with you into judgment?

5 Is not your wickedness manifold? Are not your iniquities endless?

6 You have unjustly kept your kinsmen's goods in pawn, left them stripped naked of their clothing.

7 To the thirsty you have given no water to drink, and from the hungry you have withheld bread;

8 As if the land belonged to the man of might, and only the privileged were to dwell in it.

9 You have sent widows away empty-handed, and the resources of orphans you have destroyed.

10 Therefore snares are round about you, and a sudden terror causes you dismay,

11 Or darkness, in which you cannot see; a deluge of waters covers you.

12 Does not God, in the heights of the heavens, behold the stars, high though they are?

13 Yet you say, "What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness?

14 Clouds hide him so that he cannot see; he walks upon the vault of the heavens!"

15 Do you indeed keep to the ancient way trodden by worthless men,

16 Who were snatched away before their time; whose foundations a flood swept away?

17 These men said to God, "Depart from us!" and, "What can the Almighty do to us?"

18 (Yet he had filled their houses with good things! But far be from me the mind of the impious!)

19 The just look on and are gladdened, and the innocent deride them:

20 "Truly these have been destroyed where they stood, and such as were left, fire has consumed!"

21 Come to terms with him to be at peace. In this shall good come to you:

22 Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart.

23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored; if you put iniquity far from your tent,

24 And treat raw gold like dust, and the fine gold of Ophir as pebbles from the brook,

25 Then the Almighty himself shall be your gold and your sparkling silver.

26 For then you shall delight in the Almighty and you shall lift up your face toward God.

27 You shall entreat him and he will hear you, and your vows you shall fulfill.

28 When you make a decision, it shall succeed for you, and upon your ways the light shall shine.

29 For he brings down the pride of the haughty, but the man of humble mien he saves.

30 God delivers him who is innocent; you shall be delivered through cleanness of hands.

v 1-3. Rather than consider Job’s words, Eliphaz jumps right in with the argument that God’s happiness didn’t depend on Job being good or bad, so Job’s afflictions must surely arise from his own guilt. 

 

v 4,5. God wouldn’t reprove Job if he was righteous, so he was obviously wicked.

 

 

v 6-9. It is amazing that Eliphaz would make such lying accusations with no evidence at all to back them up: taking clothing in pledge from a fellow Jew and leaving him naked; withholding bread and water from needy when it was in his power to supply it; possessed the land of the poor; and refused to help widows and orphans.

 

 

v 10,11. Therefore Job is having all these fears and calamities.

 

 

v 12-14. Job had said that God knew all, yet afflicted him, 21:22, and that was what frustrated him. Eliphaz twists Job’s words around and claimed Job said that God was far away and didn’t know.

 

 

v 15-18. Now he accuses Job of being just like the wicked men God destroyed in the flood of Noah. They told God to leave them alone, even though He was blessing them, and with a sneer, quotes Job’s own words of 21:14-16 to show that he was a hypocrite to say the ungodly prospered, than turn around and say the wicked were destroyed.

 

 

 

v 19,20. Eliphaz said people rejoiced that the wicked perished in the flood, and he implies he is rejoicing over Job’s troubles and the fire that burned up his sheep. We are told not to rejoice over the calamities of even our enemies, Prov. 17:5; 24:17.

v 21-30. Through the rest of this chapter Eliphaz continues the thought that Job is material minded, wicked and needs to repent. Job needed to submit and return to God rather than question Him. Quit sinning and trusting in his wealth. If he would do these things, he would be restored into fellowship with God and be blessed. He even said God would deliver those Job prayed for. It is interesting that in the end, God told Job to pray for these three accusers.