1 Then Eliphaz {Eliphaz: God Is Fine Gold} the Temanite answered {anah: responded deliberately} and said.
2 Can a man be of use to God {El, Self-Sufficient One}? Indeed, can even a wise person {maskil: insightful one} benefit Him?
3 Is there any pleasure to the Almighty {Shaddai, Supreme Sovereign} if you are righteous? Or any profit {betsa: gain} if you make your ways blameless?
4 Is it for your reverence that He reproves you {yokhi’kha: remedial rebuke}, or does He come with you into judgment {mishpat: legal case}?
5 Is not your wickedness {ra’atecha: moral depravity} great, and is there no end to your iniquities {la’avonotecha: moral guilt}?
6 For you take a pledge{tachbol: seized collateral} from your brother for nothing, and you strip off{tafshit: harsh removal} garments of the naked.
7 You did not give water to the weary {ayef: left without strength}, and from the hungry you withheld bread {lechem: essential sustenance}.
8 But as for the powerful man {zeroa: strong arm}, to him the land belongs, and the one honored {nesu panim: shown favor} dwells in it.
9 You sent widows away empty {reikam: without provision}, and the arms {zeroʿot: sources of support} of orphans were crushed.
10 Therefore snares {pachim: cunning traps} are all around you, and sudden {pitom: abrupt onset} terror terrifies you.
11 Or darkness {choshekh: absolute gloom} prevents you from seeing, and an abundance {shif'at: overwhelming quantity} of water covers you.
12 Is it not God {Eloah, Supreme Ruler} in the heights {govah: supreme elevation} of heaven? And look at the highest stars, for they are exalted.
13 Yet you say, “What does God {El: All-Knowing Judge} know? Will He judge through darkness {arafel: thick cloud of obscurity}?”
14 Thick clouds are a hiding place for Him {Elohim, Veiled Sovereign}, so that He does not see; and in the circuit of the heavens He walks about {yithallakh: continual movement}.
15 Will you keep the everlasting path that men of iniquity {metei-aven: filled with evil} have walked {darkhu: trodden before}?
16 Those who were snatched away {kumtu: taken prematurely} before their time, when a river was poured out on their foundation {yesodam: underlying base}.
17 Those who say to God {El, Divine Judge}, “Depart from us,” and “What can the Almighty {Shaddai, All-Powerful One} do to us?”
18 Yet He {YHWH, Upholder of Justice} filled their houses with good things, but the counsel {atsat: strategic advice} of the wicked is far from me.
19 The righteous {tsaddiqim: morally upright} will see it and rejoice, and the innocent {naqi: guiltless} will mock them.
20 Surely our opponents {qimanu: those who rose against us} are cut off, and fire has consumed {akhlah: devouring action} what remained of them.
21 Please incline yourself with Him {YHWH, Reconciler}, and be at peace {shalem: complete harmony}; thereby good will come to you.
22 Accept instruction {torah: foundational teaching} from his mouth and lay up his words in your heart {lev: center of thought and will}.
23 If you return to the Almighty {shaddai, Mighty Rebuilder}, you will be built up; you will put injustice {avlah: crooked dealing} far from your tent.
24 And set your gold {batsar: precious metal} upon the dust, and the gold of Ophir on the rocks of ravines {nehalim: flowing channels}.
25 And the Almighty {Shaddai, All-Sufficient One} will be your treasure {betzarecha: secure wealth}, and you will have abundances of silver.
26 For then you will take delight in the Almighty {shadday, Supreme Strength}, and you will lift up your face to God {eloah, Attentive Judge}.
27 You will pray to Him {elav, divine recipient of supplication}, and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows {neder: solemn promises}.
28 And you shall decree {omer: authoritative pronouncement} a thing, and it shall be established for you, and light shall shine upon your ways {derakhekha: direction of life}.
29 For when they are brought low and you say, “It is pride,” then He {Elohim, Upholder of the Humble} will save those with modest perspective {shach einayim: humble outlook}.
30 He will deliver even one who is not innocent {inaqi: legally guilty}, and He will be delivered by the purity of your hands {kappecha: acts of righteousness}.