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¹ Then Elifaz the Temanite answered, ² "Can a man be profitable to God? Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself. ³ Is it any pleasure to Shaddai, that you are righteous? Or does it benefit him, that you make your ways perfect? ⁴ Is it for your piety that he reproves you, That he enters with you into judgment?

⁵ Isn't your wickedness great? Neither is there any end to your iniquities. ⁶ For you have taken pledges from your brother for nothing, And stripped the naked of their clothing. ⁷ You haven't given water to the weary to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. ⁸ But as for the mighty man, he had the eretz. The honorable man, he lived in it. ⁹ You have sent widows away empty, And the arms of the fatherless have been broken. ¹⁰ Therefore snares are round about you. Sudden fear troubles you, ¹¹ Or darkness, so that you can not see, And floods of waters cover you. ¹² "Isn't God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are! ¹³ You say, 'What does God know? Can he judge through the thick darkness? ¹⁴ Thick clouds are a covering to him, so that he doesn't see. He walks on the vault of the sky.'

¹⁵ Will you keep the old way Which wicked men have trodden, ¹⁶ Who were snatched away before their time, Whose foundation was poured out as a stream, ¹⁷ Who said to God, 'Depart from us;' And, 'What can Shaddai do for us?' 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; The innocent laugh them to scorn, ²⁰ Saying, 'Surely those who rose up against us are cut off, The fire has consumed the remnant of them.'

²¹ "Acquaint yourself with him, now, and be at shalom. Thereby good shall come to you. ²² Please receive instruction from his mouth, And lay up his words in your heart. ²³ If you return to Shaddai, you shall be built up, If you put away unrighteousness far from your tents. ²⁴ Lay your treasure in the dust, The gold of Ofir among the stones of the brooks. ²⁵ The Almighty will be your treasure, Precious silver to you. ²⁶ For then shall you delight yourself in Shaddai, And shall lift up your face to God. ²⁷ You shall make your prayer to him, and he will hear you. You shall pay your vows. ²⁸ You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established to you. Light shall shine on your ways. ²⁹ When they cast down, you shall say, 'be lifted up.' He will save the humble person. ³⁰ He will even deliver him who is not innocent; Yes, he shall be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."